Dead bats FALL FROM SKY during deadly 42C Australia heatwave

Wildlife careers have set up a makeshift hospital with a “triage” to help dozens of flying foxes – the world’s largest species of bat – that dropped from the sky but miraculously survived. The hospital was set up in Manoora, Cairns, in north Queensland, by Amanda Milligan and Jessie Smart who have been providing first aid to the sick animals and remove the creatures that died. Ms Milligan told the Cairns Post she has never seen so many bats affected by the soaring temperatures Down Under. She said: “As soon as it hit more than 40C, we had bats falling from the trees.

“Here we had 140 dead on Monday and we’ve got another 40 today.”

The bats have been found dropping out of colonies in Cairns, Edmonton, Gordonvale, and Townsville.

The NQ Wildlife Care Facebook page shared a shocking video showing a huge amount of bats that have succumbed to the scorching heat, which reached highs of 42.1C yesterday and up to 80mm of rain as a result of a thunderstorm.

The heap of dead bats were seen motionless and lines up along a grassy footpath and several trees.

One of the wildlife careers said as a result of the deaths, many pups have been orphaned.

To prevent more deaths occurring, Ms Milligan and Ms Smart are giving fallen bats as much water as possible and calling on other volunteers to help them.

They have also been providing the sick bats with glucose injections to up their sugar levels.

Ms Milligan said any help from other volunteers at the hospital would be greatly appreciated.

Health officials in Australia have urged the pubic not to approach the bats without a professional to prevent the public being scratched or bitten.

Several people have already been injured, with Tropical Public Health Services Cairns director Dr Richard Gair explaining the majority of injuries took place at a bat colony located at Cairns City Library.

Dr Gair added people succumbed to injuries after bats flew into them and scratched them, and not though residents picking the bats up and trying to care for them.

He also warned the bats could be infected with Australian bat lyssavirus (ABLV).

He said: “ABLV is an infection like rabies, which can be transmitted through a bat bite or scratch, or possibly through exposure of the eyes, nose or mouth to bat saliva.”

Flying foxes are among the largest bats in the world and can reach up to 27cm in length.

They are more commonly known as fruit bats.