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  • Writer's pictureJennifer J

The Silent Death Of Flying Foxes In Australia 🦇


Flying Foxes are in trouble in Australia and are facing a silent death.

Since 2018 Flying Foxes in Australia have been in trouble. In January 2018, hundreds of Flying Foxes died because of Australia's heatwave. In Queensland during 2018, thousands of Flying Foxes dropped to their deaths because of Australia's heatwaves. The heatwave was so bad in Australia that it killed off a third of Australia's Flying Foxes - at least 23,000 of one of the Flying Fox species - the Spectacled Flying Fox - were killed between the 26th and the 27th of November 2018.

There were also other species of Flying Foxes affected and killed because of Australia's heatwave in 2018. Another species that was effected was the Black Flying Foxes. It is estimated that there were 10,000 Flying Foxes killed because of the heat; all dropping to their deaths.

It has been estimated that at least a total of 30,000 Flying Foxes dropped to their death because of the extreme heat in November 2018.

The Die-Off Of Flying Foxes Now

Just like in 2018, Flying Foxes are dying off again. Flying Foxes are dying-off in a similar way to how they were in 2018; Flying Foxes are again dying-off in Australia because of extreme heat.

Sadly, thousands have died: in total 4,500 Flying Foxes died in December last month because of Australia's extreme heat.

Australia's Wildlife Being Massacred Because Of Bushfires

Australia's wild animals all over the country are being killed-off because of these bushfires. So far, there is estimated to have been over 1 billion animals which have been killed because of the bushfires - the most worrying thing is that this estimate of 1 billion is said to be a ''very conservative'' estimate, which means that there are likely far more animals which have been killed than 1 billion. Perhaps the true devastation of what has happened to Australia's animals won't be fully understood until the wildfires have been stopped.

What Is The Future For Flying Foxes?

It was estimated that there were 75,000 Flying Foxes in Australia before they started dying-off in 2018. The Black Flying-Fox was classed as 'Least Concern' by the IUCN Red List, while the Spectacled Flying-Fox was also of 'Least Concern' for the IUCN Red List. Sadly however, in just two years, the extreme heat in Australia has been devastating for Flying Foxes and now they risk becoming classed as endangered in the near future because of the extreme heat over the last two years.

But beyond that, what is the future for Flying Foxes, and animals like them that cannot survive in extreme heat? With global warming, it could result in animals like the Flying Fox becoming extinct within our lifetime because they cannot cope with living in extreme conditions.

Will Flying Foxes be one of global warnings earliest victims and become extinct? Or will we stop global warming before animals like the Flying Fox becoming extinct? That will depend upon us and what we do in the near future - the future of how we deal with climate change will impact animals like the Flying Fox, and decide whether or not they survive for future generations.

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