Shoalhaven Bat Clinic - Wildlife Rescue SC Inc.

20/07/2024

Best seat in the house on this chilly winters morning. Between the cosy blanket and morning sun 🌄 🦇

Flying foxes, unlike our nocturnal microbats, spend their days basking in the warmth of the sun and grooming themselves.

14/07/2024

Sunday Bumday

09/07/2024

Every night several wild flying foxes like to visit our aviaries and check out what's going on. By sunrise, they usually leave again. It is not abnormal for bats in trouble to stay though; must pick up on the vibes that we are there to help them.

On the weekend, Miss Lunar stuck around and when we tried to check her, her attempt to fly off landed her on the ground. She was quickly collected and was assessed. She has some old injuries on the abdomen and wings, which are healing, but evident of a previous predator attack. Maybe she was just exhausted, maybe heard she could grab a free feed. Whichever it was, I'm glad she chose here and can now be looked after and vet checked, as it also appears that this little miss is growing another little life in her tummy.

07/07/2024

It's
Imagine buying a new bag at a garage sale and taking it home to find 5 little microbats already lease the property.
That is what happened to these Goulds Long Eared Bats on the weekend. Luckily, they were not injured in the process, but unfortunately did have to be evicted.
They'll be returned to their roosting spot in the near future.

02/07/2024

Corin luckily escaped the jaws of a big dog when taking a crash landing in a residential backyard. He was rescued last week by another organisation, Wildcare Queanbeyan, and assessed and stabilised before being transported in to our care to buddy up with some others his age.
Corin is a late season baby, only 275g when rescued and likely came from the small camp still left in Canberra over winter. Besides being a little hungry and cold, he has no injuries and will remain with us until spring time for release.

01/07/2024

Here at the Wildlife Hospital, we are constantly amazed by the incredible creatures we care for, and today, we want to spotlight one of nature's marvels: the Flying Fox!

Did you know that Flying Foxes are not only remarkable for being mammals that can fly, but they also possess an extraordinary adaptation in their wing membranes? The intricate network of blood vessels in their wings allows these magnificent creatures to regulate their body temperature with precision. When it gets too hot, these blood vessels expand to release heat, and when it's cooler, they constrict to conserve warmth. This responsiveness is a testament to the intricate and intelligent design of nature! 🌡️✨

30/06/2024

Last week, one of our members returned home in the early afternoon to spot a flying fox feeding from her bird feeder of fresh fruit. We attended for assessment and found the adult male to be very active and eluding capture, but clearly hungry. We monitored him for a couple of days and identified that he was food hoarding, a natural instinct done during times of starvation when they find a food source and refuse to leave it.
After 3 days, I finally managed to capture Arthur the Grey headed flying fox for assessment as he had become quite lethargic by this time. Arthur was slightly dehydrated and underweight so it was in his best interests to come in to care.

At this time of year, and after so many rain events, food sources are low in our area and the small colony of flying foxes who stuck by over winter may be struggling to thrive. It is important to always report any bat seen alone during the day or any bat low to or on the ground. Never touch or handle any bat without appropriate vaccinations.

Arthur has gained 55g in 3 days and has enjoyed having a warm area to rest in for recovery. He will be released in spring when conditions are better and he is at a healthy weight again.

29/06/2024

Oreo would like to let you all know that his foster carer has been very slack in sharing updates lately, as we took a bit of a break off social media to focus energy on other things, after a wild bat season.
But we would like to return and keep educating the public on our facility, our rescues and rehab work and the importance of all 1400+ bat species worldwide to our ecosystem.

26/05/2024

On the final day on National Volunteers Week May 20-26 2024, we say our final goodbyes to the last little faces of orphans raised in care this season, as they left today for their final journey to a release facility.

I take this time to honour and thank all our volunteers who have put in so much time and effort in to rescuing, rehabilitating and releasing and running our facility.

In the season just passed, October 2023-May 2024, our members have:
•Attended to 311 calls for rescue of flying foxes and microbats
•Taken in 239 bats for rehabiliation
•Released 197 bats so far back in to the wild
•Chopped around 400g of fruit per bat, per day for each flying fox in care
•Spent hours every day cleaning all facilities on site
•Attended rain, hail or shine to complete rehabiliation activities and feeding of bats in care
•Maintained a constant supply of mealworms through mealworm farming for microbats coming in to care
•Driven thousands of kilometres attending rescues, vet appointments, transport between carers and doing releases

As wildlife rescue volunteers, we are on call 24/7 and all of these responsibilties are done for no financial benefit and we do them in our own time, around work and family commitments.

Thank you especially to the SBC team, but to all Wildlife Rescue Volunteers. You are more appreciated than you know 🦇

20/05/2024

The face of someone really eager for release 😅

This Chocolate Wattled Bat is 1 of 3 rescued in the last 3 days. Although very widespread across the eastern coastline and southern parts of Australia, we surprisingly don't get many in care. This cranky one was disturbed in a horse rug he had decided to take rest in out of the cold overnight. He was examined and quickly released again tonight.

The chocolate wattled bat (chalinolobus morio) is named for its shiny brown coat, which resembles milk chocolate. The chalinolobus family have a small flap of skin which extends from the base of the ears to the corner of the mouth, explaining the 'wattled' name.

12/05/2024

Wishing all the mums, dad mums, step mums, foster mums, animal baby mums, drag family mums, grandmums, wildlife carer mums and batty mums a very special Mothers Day for today.

Love from The Shoalhaven Bat Clinic
🖼 Tia and Oreo

11/05/2024

Better keep them raincoats out, we are in for another wild night of down pours tonight on the South Coast of NSW! 🌧

Stay safe and dry everyone, and remember to report any bats who are injured or alone during the day that may have been impacted by the weather.

01/05/2024

At this time of year, as the seasons change and the cool sets in, we see an increase in calls for displaced microbats.
Microbats utilise the process of torpor to decrease activity, body temperature and metabolic rate in order to survive in times of low food availability and poor weather.
They will sometimes be displaced from their roost site and it is not uncommon to find them resting in outdoor umbrellas, blinds, washing on the line, horse rugs or even make it indoors in a dark warm spot.

If you discover a microbat, please do not touch it, try not to disturb it from its location and contact your local wildlife rescue group for advice or rescue, if necessary.
Never touch or handle any bat unless vaccinated against Australian Bat Lyssavirus. Any bat who has bitten or scratched an unvaccinated person requires euthanasia to carry out relevant testing and the bite victim will need a post-exposure round of vaccinations, up to a total of 4 injections.
No touch, no risk for all involved.

📸 Heidi -
Rex: displaced in a garage and has since been released again after a rest up.

21/04/2024

Big yawns from a tiny little Oreo. Happy Sunday! 🦇🤎

Oreo is now 13 days old and still being support fed by us, but mum Tia is settling in to her first motherhood well and her milk production improving.

17/04/2024

April 17 is International Bat Appreciation Day.
Take this date, and every day, to acknowledge the importance of all 1466 species of Bat worldwide that play such a vital role in our ecosystem in seed dispersal, pollination, and insect control.

17/04/2024

16/04/2024

Happy International Bat Appreciation Day!

Join us tomorrow night at Shellharbour City Library to hear all about the incredible bats of Australia and celebrate them! Book your spot now.

🦇 Reminder! Join us for an engaging Nature Talk in the Library: The Wonderful World of Bats, on 18 April from 6pm - 7:30pm at the Shellharbour City Library. 🌍

Explore the essential roles bats play as pollinators and insect controllers. 🦟 Discover how you can protect these incredible creatures at home and in your garden. 🌳

Presented by the Flying Fox and Microbat Coordinator of Wildlife Rescue South Coast, operator of the Shoalhaven Bat Clinic. 🌿

Reserve your spot now! 👉 bit.ly/3vPqQE3

15/04/2024

Smile bright, smile wide, show off your teeth (and ears) with pride 😁🦇
Happy

14/04/2024

Vienna, another young female Grey Headed Flying Fox. 395g and about 17 weeks old, Miss Vienna is very lucky to have been spotted on the roadside by a passer by on a barbed wire fence this morning. She thankfully was only caught by one barb and hadn't fought too hard and caused further damage.

Vienna will recover in care and will be released again soon to live out a full and happy life in the wild.
Thanks Lindsay and Erin for attending this early call out.

13/04/2024

28 of our juvenile flying foxes have left this morning on an early morning departure to their release cage 🦇❤️😁🤗🥳

But we've already attended to a barbed wire rescue of another juvie girl today, so the lull didn't last long. Update to follow.

11/04/2024

For any of our Canberra followers

This Saturday it will be Baturday! Learn from experts in a walk through Commonwealth Park, home to a flying fox maternity colony. Discover the reason for the bats' annual return and learn about their essential role as pollinators. Led by wildlife ecologist Peggy Eby and ACT Wildlife's Stephen Bartos. Book here: seechange.org.au/events-listings/flying-fox-walk-and-talk

10/04/2024

Twiggy is a juvenile Grey Headed Flying Fox who is only about 5 months old. She got herself caught under netting of a backyard fig tree and needed our help yesterday.
Luckily, the tree was netted using wildlife friendly, small aperture netting and pulled tight over a frame, so Twiggy was not entangled. However, there were small peep holes that she managed to squeeze in to.
She had been there for a couple of days as homeowners were away, but she is unscathed from injury and exposure, apart from some small abrasians and being a bit wet from rain. She should recover with some simple TLC in care before entering the wild again soon.

Wildlife friendly netting saves lives. Always check for holes to ensure bats and other wildlife still can't get caught underneath though.

10/04/2024

We have a special little surprise in care at the moment with mum Tia and and a very late season baby, Oreo, who is now 3 days old.

Tia was rescued from netting on the weekend by our friends at WIRES, heavily pregnant. As a result of the stress, she gave birth slightly prematurely to a perfect little boy.
Her milk supply has not come in yet, so she has been transferred to us to be around other batty companionship and for us to support feed baby Oreo until she is capable on her own. So far they are both doing well and Tia is very cooperative with the help.

08/04/2024

This sweet face is that of a 4.5g Little Forest Bat, affectionately named Dominoes.
Dominoes suffered burns after taking up a roosting spot inside a pizza oven several weeks ago. He suffered singed hair over his body, burns to one ear tip, wings and tail tip. He has been in intensive care since his ordeal healing up and will now start flight training and testing out his hunting skills again in our new microbat flight aviary.
Damage to wings can result in the inability to fly and make them unviable for release, and damage to ears can be a death sentence for microbats who use them for echolocation and hunting.
Send us positive vibes for Dominoes, who has fought so hard to make it this far.

08/04/2024

We've been a little quiet on social media lately, focusing on the animals in care and their rehabilitation and release plans at the end of a very busy season.

Since our last online appearance over a month ago, we have responded to 89 more bats in need of help, assessment or rescue through our rescue hotline. We have also successfully released 28 microbats, 21 adult flying foxes and the first group of 18 of our orphaned juveniles raised in care, with more heading out over the next few weeks 🦇❤️

21/02/2024

There are no forests without flying foxes. 🌳🦇

13/02/2024

Happy Valentines Day, lovers 🤎🦇

07/02/2024

Well, we spoke too soon about the last 2 babies.
On Monday, 6 week old baby Neil was found on the ground nearby a local camp. He is very underweight, but has been fighting really hard and started to gain weight already.

04/02/2024

Milo and Flip are the youngest babies in our care and the last out of the 21 grey headed flying fox orphans our facility raised this year, to enter creche. These two little munchkins are still on 4 bottle feeds per day for a few weeks before weaning will begin.

03/02/2024

Our creche kids are regularly monitored and weighed in weekly to check their progress. They are all gaining so much weight and getting their flight skills perfected. I'm so proud!

The first group who entered are ready to upgrade to the flight aviary for their flying to be perfected, before the final step in their rehabilitation of entering the soft release aviary.

Thank you to all our incredible volunteers putting in the hours to rescue, raise and participate in these important rehabilitation steps. As well as those on our team on food preparation duties who are chopping over 60kg of fruit each day.