Community urged to stop disturbing endangered flying fox colony

THE newly minted not-for-profit organisation Bats of Geelong is calling for greater measures to protect the region’s grey-headed flying fox colony from people who try to deliberately disturb them.

The charity, which was established in October last year, has raised concerns about the “life-threatening consequences” disruptions such as hoon driving and loud noises including cars backfiring, car horns or people screaming can have on the already endangered species, which resides in Eastern Park.

The group is now calling for speed humps and new signage to be installed along Eastern Park Circuit to prevent road users from reaching excessive speeds and to educate the community about the many threats the colony faces.

Wildlife carer and Bats of Geelong founder Leila Merritt said deliberate disturbances to the colony are a daily occurrence, with some even throwing items, like pine cones, up into the trees to encourage the bats to fly.

“They don’t actually consider what they’re doing is causing fear and stress in these animals,” Ms Merritt said.

“When flying foxes become afraid, their natural instinct is to fly and to disperse, and what they end up doing is leaving their pups behind.”

Flying foxes breed between September and March, and female bats carry and feed their young for several months. Both mothers and their pups are particularly vulnerable during this period.

Ms Merritt said abandoned pups are preyed upon by ravens and currawongs and often do not survive.

Disturbances can also have severe health impacts or the nocturnal species, which needs to conserve energy during the day.

“When they over-exert that energy, they can actually become quite unwell with something called exertional myopathy, and it can lead to multi-organ failure,” Ms Merritt said. “So, it’s also dangerous for our adults to be disturbed during the day as well.”

Considered nationally significant, Geelong’s flying fox colony is the second largest in Victoria and can swell to more than 10,000 in number in summer.

But the overall population of flying foxes is in decline, with the species also facing threats from extreme heat, habitat loss and human-made mechanisms like fruit nettings.

“If we lose our flying foxes… an entire ecosystem can fall apart, so it’s critical to conserve their spaces and stop them from becoming extinct in the future,” Ms Merritt said.

“Going forward, we’re hoping to continue to work closely with the council to make the colony a much safer place for bats to live.”

James Stirton, the City of Greater Geelong’s executive director of city infrastructure, said the City was aware of a small number of people deliberately disturbing the colony on a regular basis.

“The City will be developing a management plan for the Eastern Park grey-headed flying fox colony,” he said.

“This process will begin mid-2025 and will involve widespread community and stakeholder consultation about what measures should be put in place to best protect flying foxes.”

Sick or injured flying foxes can be reported to Wildlife Victoria by phoning 8400 7300.