-To be updated later tonight-
newy.com.au – Newcastle councillor Siobhan Isherwood will ask council tonight to recognise Hunter Wildlife Rescue volunteers as they wrap up a flying-fox rescue season in which 80 animals were cared for and released.
Cr Isherwood will move at the Ordinary Council Meeting that council recognise the work of Hunter Wildlife Rescue and the role City of Newcastle staff play in supporting the organisation at Blackbutt Reserve.
“Flying-foxes are amazing, vulnerable creatures that share our region with us. We are so lucky to have an incredible group like Hunter Wildlife Rescue that cares so deeply for the Hunter’s injured wildlife day in and out,” Cr Isherwood said.
Summer heatwaves can be dangerous for flying-foxes, with individual bats falling from trees and whole camps at risk of collapse when temperatures soar. Cr Isherwood said volunteers monitor camps during those periods and search for young, injured, dehydrated or fallen flying-foxes before nursing them back to health.
“Volunteers put hours of care into triage, medical care, and a feeding regime that often requires around the clock care,” she said.
“It is so wonderful to see the City of Newcastle supporting such an important volunteer group and recognising the important role Hunter Wildlife Rescue plays in our community.”
Hunter Wildlife Rescue senior flying-fox coordinator Judy said most young flying-foxes brought into care were orphaned during extreme heat days, while adults were often rescued after becoming caught in backyard fruit tree nets and barbed wire fences.
“The rescued young flying-foxes, called pups, are fed on regular bottles around the clock until weaned and then fed daily in creche and during release. Daily cleaning of the enclosure and weekly weighing and measuring are critical while they recover from heat stress and injuries,” Judy said.
“Eventually, they all end up at a bat enclosure at Blackbutt Reserve where they are re-wilded and prepared for release.”
Judy said care for this season’s young flying-foxes was coming to an end, but volunteers would continue looking after injured adults before preparing for the next heat season.
“The work doesn’t end, but the rewards of being able to release healthy individuals back into the wild are immense,” she said.
She said flying-foxes played an important environmental role as pollinators.
“Flying-foxes are the primary pollinator of eucalypts on the southeast coast of Australia. Without them we lose our forests. No flying-foxes, no forests,” she said.
Hunter Wildlife Rescue is continuing to welcome volunteers and donations to support its work.
“Volunteers and donations are always welcomed, like many community organisations, we run on the smell of an oily rag,” Judy said.
