The town of Ingham in North Queensland, Australia, has a bat problem.
Not just a few hundreds or thousands or even tens of thousands but 300,000 of them. The bat population suddenly exploded over the last few months until the small town found itself inundated with them and it has been frustrating to residents.
The swarms of bats just swoop through the night sky as they search for food.
The problem has become big enough that a lot of children at Ingham State School are now too terrified to go to their classes as one colony has set up residence behind the school.
Adam and Susanne Kaurila are thinking of pulling their two daughters from the school out of fear they may get attacked.
“They’re not stepping a foot in that ground until something is being done,” Ms. Kaurila told A Current Affair.
Of particular concern is the ability of bats to carry a rabies-like disease known as Australian Bat Lyssavirus. Over the past 25 years, the disease has killed three people in Queensland.
In an effort to control the bat infestation in the school, the Queensland Education Department has promised to trim the trees as well as build new fences.
According to Hinchinbrook Shire Council Mayor Ramon Jayo, the town was nearing a “crisis point” with the bat population continuing to rapidly expand.
“Where they want to go is basically beside all our critical areas – that includes the schools, the hospital, our kindergartens, our preschools,” he said.
Unfortunately, residents don’t have many options because the bats are a protected species.
But Amanda Wright, from North Queensland Wildlife Care, said the colony is made up of two species that are mixed together. She assured people that the colony will shrink by April because one of the species is migratory.
Speaking to ABC, she said she sympathized with the frustration of the residents but stressed that the bats were absolutely essential to the eco-system.
“Without these creatures out there pollinating and creating new life, we may as well pack up walk away from our ecology.”
Replaced!