Paralysis ticks putting an iconic Australian animal under threat
Paralysis ticks are putting an iconic and endangered Australian animal under threat in Far North Queensland, with an expert sounding an alarm about the plight faced by the "misunderstood" flying fox.
Jenny McLean owner of Tolga Bat Hospital in Atherton said she's seen a huge number of orphaned spectacled flying foxes earlier in the season than expected.
The species is listed as endangered and widely deemed a vital "long-rage pollinator of the rainforests".
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Award-winning local photographer Juergen Freund photographed some of the orphans, which need to be swaddled "like babies". Juergen Freund
McLean explained mother flying foxes are dying from tick bites.
It comes after award-winning local photographer Juergen Freund launched a crowdfunding campaign with wife Stella to produce a book for the bat hospital. The aim is to raise funds for the facility and help the keystone species.
"We've got something like 120 pups at the moment," McLean told 9news.com.au, explaining she's inheriting some orphans from other regions.
"In a really bad tick season, though, we can end up with 500 pups between the months of September to Christmas.
"We don't get the bats into care until they have literally fallen out of the trees and onto the ground - so it's an advanced stage of paralysis."
McLean expressed concern about the fact so many animals are experiencing bites.
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Spectacled flying fox babies are seen sleeping after a big meal. Juergen Freund
"You have to consider these flying foxes are normally feeding up high," she said.
"If there's plenty of food up there, they won't come down low to feed on this weed species that brings them into contact with the ticks, which are normally in that first metre above ground."
Ongoing wet weather down the east coast of Australia has led to fears of a spike in tick numbers this summer, with some vets reporting shortages of vital tick anti-toxin serum
McLean said the animals are "relatively easy to look after" but the anti-toxin serum runs the cost up.
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A vet hold two paralysis ticks. The parasite called ixodes holocyclus is a small, eight-legged tick that produces a potent toxin. 9News
"It's extremely expensive to treat them," she said.
"The tick anti-toxin is about $400 a bottle. That has 50ml and we would normally use 3ml per adult bat.
"So each bat takes about $20, but that doesn't include going to the camp, coming back and keeping them in care."
McLean said anyone who encounters a sick bat should not touch them as there's a small risk they carry lyssavirus, a deadly RNA virus.
Instead she recommends calling wildlife rescue groups, such as the hospital, WIRES or Sydney Bats for NSW.
Flying foxes are vital pollinators of the rainforests as pollen clings to their fur and spreads to other plants when they land. Juergen Freund
A spectacled flying fox is rescued from a wire fence. Juergen Freund
A species under threat
Mainland Australia has four species of flying fox: the little red flying fox, the black flying fox, the spectacled flying fox and the grey-headed flying fox.
The spectacled flying fox, which calls Far North Queensland home, is deemed endangered with both the grey-headed and little red flying foxes listed as threatened.
McLean said in addition to ticks, the species are prone to heat stress events, which can lead to mass die-offs
"We've only ever had one up here (in Far North Queensland), but 23,000 died," she said.
"But certainly they have had big ones in Shoalhaven in NSW, Wingham Brush, Melbourne and Adelaide.
"It's when you get temperatures over 40C and there's very dry air - ours is normally humid."
McLean said the species' association with disease is one of the aspects putting them at risk, because it overshadows their importance.
"It's unfortunate they're associated with diseases as they are vitally important for pollinating the forest and such," she said.
"They're a misunderstood animal for sure."
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