Shortly After Rescue Momma Black Flying Fox Gives Birth On Camera - A Carer's Moment Of A Lifetime!

A concerned member of the public made a wildlife rescue call one evening as they noticed a flying fox found in their backyard.

Liz Miller from Bats Qld answered the call and discovered a distressed black flying fox, just hanging on a pot plant. It was obvious she was heavily pregnant.

She had possibly come in to find food as there was a shortage at that time and become trapped in the courtyard, most likely very exhausted and hungry.

She was taken to Currumbin Wildlife Hospital, (Gold Coast, QLD) which offers a wonderful service to local bat rescuers and their batties.

She had a full check-up and was then discharged to be taken home to an experienced flying fox carer, Joanie Lewis, for further care and observations.

That morning about 5.30am Joanie heard a baby bat crying out. She remembered waking up thinking that she didn't have any babies in her care? So she went to investigate.

Lo and behold, Joannie saw the momma bat beginning to give birth, so took the opportunity to try to video it. It was Joanie's first baby bat birth to witness as well.

She was very careful not to disturb or stress her too much as she had only just come into care.

But as you can see in the video, momma bat, named Tuk Tuk seemed fine and not stressed with being filmed. What an amazing experience to witness, and Joanie was so lucky to capture what she did.

FOLLOW UP:

Tuk Tuk (mumma bat) and Sisu (baby) were 'hard released' into a flying fox colony within a week of being in care.

To explain, if a bat comes into care with minimal injuries, it can be taken straight to a colony during the day and allowed to join the colony.

Fortunately for Tuk Tuk and Sisu, it was ideal for them to be placed straight into a nearby colony before bub Sisu got too big. Otherwise, both would have to have been kept in care for months, until bub was strong enough to fly and follow mum.

Being hard released into a colony is ideal for a mum to carry bub out and about in the wild when she goes out at night to forage for food. She does this until bub can thermoregulate at around 4 weeks of age.

Then the mums can leave their babies at the colony at night with all the other bubs and then come back to them in the morning.

MORE ABOUT BATS QLD:

Bats QLD relies completely on donations. The organization is run by volunteers alone. Without donations, they would not be able to exist and wouldn’t be able to continue the work they do.

There is a lot of financial outlay to care for rescued flying foxes, some of which require to be kept in care for many months.

Please donate to help save a life.

You can use the PayPal link below:
https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/batsqld

If you don't have Paypal but still want to help, here are their bank account details:
Bats QLD
BSB # 034-182
ACC # 228422

Bats QLD thank you!

PS. For more information, visit: https://www.batsqld.org.au

ABOUT IRENE ISAACSON:

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.

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