Cameraman Attacked By Bat! - Meet Jackie, A Little Red Flying Fox - Hazards of Working With Bats

Watch as Tony experiences life behind the scenes, working and filming in Mandi's rehabilitation bat aviary as he has a close encounter with a flying fox, aka, little Jackie.

Jackie is a permanent resident in the bat aviary and LOVES checking out new people. Tony hadn't met her before, and we forgot to warn him...whoops!

MORE ABOUT AUSALIAN FLYG FOXES

Rehabilitating bats or flying foxes involves a lot of expertise and care, spanning weeks or months in wildlife care. All the people you see in these videos are experienced in handling bats and are fully vaccinated against ABLV (Australian Bat Lyssa Virus), a rare rabies-like virus that can kill humans.

Whilst bats in long-term care are seen to be very loving, curious, and intelligent animals, don't try to do this at home, and especially don't think about handling an injured wild flying fox.

If distressed or in pain, they can bite or scratch, like any other animal. Just call your local wildlife or bat association and they will give you advice or come out to rescue it if necessary.

Little red flying foxes are the only Australian bat that regularly roosts in clusters of up to 30 flying foxes in a bunch, like grapes hanging in a tree. They are also the only flying fox in the world that eats almost exclusively nectar. So much so, their tongues are different from other flying foxes and more similar to those of nectar-feeding birds, such as honey-eaters. They will often fly up to 30km a night to find food.

Flying foxes play an important role in dispersing seeds and pollinating flowering plants. They are crucial in keeping our native forests healthy.

And because flying foxes are highly mobile, seeds can be moved locally and over great distances. Thus they are vital as our forest pollinators too.

Flying foxes are also the largest flying Australian mammal. And the only mammal in Australia that is the closest genetically to humans - go figure! Throughout history, humans have always wanted to fly but the flying foxes beat us to it. Now THAT deserves our admiration!

For more videos like this, check out our playlist: "Discover Bats" at: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQrN5eNL5RhOIhD8Erg2cFyPrENv1ct-8

MORE ABOUT NDI'S BATS

Mandi has been a licensed bat carer for nearly 30 years. She lives in Southeast Queensland and cares for bats from her personal funds and any donations she may receive.

She looks after baby bats, orphaned bats, injured bats, and even geriatric bats who are allowed to live out their days in the blissful batty comfort of her loving care.

Mandi also actively supports other bat carers who need any form of assistance with their bats in care, including temporary in-house care if a carer is sick or needs to go away.

But being an individual carer and not a member of a Not-For-Profit wildlife organization, Mandi does not receive any form of government financial support or grant monies.

FUNDRAISG FOR NDI'S BATS

This video is part of my fundraising initiative to help Mandi feed her bats, maintain and improve her aviaries.

So, if you would like to donate to Mandi's bats, then use a PayPal account to send a donation:

ireneisaacsonphotography@gmail.com OR VIA: paypal.me/ireneisaacson

All these funds are donated to Mandi for bats in her care. THANK YOU! ;-)

ABOUT IRENE IACSON:

Irene Isaacson (ex-iFotoTravel) is a passionate travel and wildlife photographer. Whilst traveling over 1 million miles and across many continents over the last 10-15 years, she has honed her photography, videography, and photojournalism skills.

With a particular love of experiencing all manner of wildlife interactions, Irene is an active volunteer and member of many global wildlife organizations.

These include Not-For-Profit organizations, many of which benefit from regular donations from her photography business profits.

She shares her adventures in the hope to raise awareness of conservation and environmental issues, using her platform to inspire, support, and enact change.

Irene says: “We are all stewards of our planet. Between us all, we can help secure the future of our world and the plants and animals within it. It only needs to start with one person…”

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