Almost 120 flying foxes hospitalised after giant hail smashes Queensland colony | Wildlife

When a severe hailstorm hit the small Queensland township of Esk at the weekend, it wasn’t just people looking to hide.

About 120 flying foxes were injured, some critically, before they were rescued by volunteers and taken to the RSPCA wildlife hospital at Wacol, south-west of Brisbane.

The RSPCA said the hailstorm injured a mix of juvenile and adult black, subred and gray-headed flying foxes, orphaning around 60 baby bats on Saturday night.

The puppies were seen by a specialist caregiver and triaged before being warmed and hydrated.

Former local David Zammit works for the RSPCA animal rescue department. He said when the hailstorm hit the Bat Conservation and Rescue Queensland (BCRQ) group sent people to check on the local colony. They found badly injured bats on the ground and in trees.

“BCRQ along with other wildlife carers who are all vaccinated [against Australian bat lyssavirus] “We have started rescuing bats on the ground,” Zammit said Tuesday.

“The injuries were varied, but mostly from the impact of the hail. Anything small like a bat or a bird would have taken it pretty badly out of the hail. What we saw were mangled faces, some broken wings, and also a lot of orphans.”

Zammit said the rescued flying foxes were all taken to Wacol hospital to be assessed by RSPCA vets.

The Bureau of Meteorology said days of severe storm activity was affecting the east coast of central and southern Queensland.

“Storm activity increased on Saturday, with damaging and dangerous storms occurring throughout the weekend and Monday,” a spokesman said.

“Multiple severe storm warnings were issued each day. Activity was more widespread on Saturday. Many storms brought the risk of high-end weather hazards, including heavy rainfall and flooding, damaging and destructive winds and massive hail.”

The bureau said huge hailstones up to 10cm in diameter (ranging from the size of a golf ball to the size of a cricket ball) were reported in numerous locations every day.

The RSPCA said if people find sick, injured or orphaned bats they should never touch them or try to save them. Instead, contact your nearest wildlife rescue organization.