May 31st, 2016: Grey-Headed Flying Foxes

[xoxoxoBruce]

Not Foxes. Don't fall for that, it’s just a fancy name for big ass bats. With an average wingspan up to 39 inches(1 m) and
weight up to 2.2 lb(1 kg), these are Megabats. Jap horror movie stuff. Fortunately they don’t “vant to suck your blood”,
not even a nibble, as a matter of fact they’re vegans, just fruit and flowers.

That said, if you know somebody with a Mulberry Tree you know a handful of birds can make a huge mess.
How about 100,000 megabats pooping on your world?

Batemans Bay, a coastal town south of Sydney, has been invaded by more than 100,000 bats. The New South Wales state
government said it would commit about $1.8m to help the local council to disperse the animals, according to local media.
The animals, known as grey-headed flying foxes, are considered a vulnerable species, meaning that they must be dispersed
using non-lethal means, like smoke, or noise.

I read that's been upped to $2.8 million, a lot more than picketing with Bats Go Home signs.

Animal rights groups have called for residents to remain patient and wait for the bats to move on of their own accord.

That's what they told the Indians about the White Man.

Residents cannot open windows and complain of the noise and odour from the animals.
"We've had many residents complain, they feel they're prisoners in their own homes, they can't go out, they have to have
air conditioning on the whole time, windows closed," New South Wales Environment Minister Mark Speakman said.
"[The circumstances] really amount almost to a state of emergency."
Mayor Lindsay Brown said a range of options were being considered.
"The current method that seems to be the one that's working the most ... is extremely loud industrial noise combined with smoke
and combined with bright lights in an effort to make the area where the flying foxes roost to be as uncomfortable as possible,"
broadcaster ABC quoted him as saying.

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