Bats in Australia are falling from the sky. The reason is due to a heat wave that has some Australian cities see temperature near 110 degrees Fahrenheit.
In Queensland, temperatures have reached an unthinkable 135 degrees Fahrenheit.
As the United States sees relief from a polar vortex that strayed into temperate latitudes, and global warming deniers are clamoring for victory, Australia is for the third year in a row, in the grips of a deadly drought and recurring heat waves.
The problem is that some of the wildlife in Australia cannot adjust to the sudden rise in temperatures.
Flying foxes are the largest bats in the wild. Scientists are now realizing that any time the temperature reaches over 43 degrees Celsius (109 Fahrenheit), they suffer hyperthermia and fall from the sky. Some of them are rescued, but most have to be euthanized.
More than 100,000 bats have succumbed just this week. They mostly die due to the impact, as they can fall from a discreet height.
The mass deaths could spell the extinction for the flying foxes colonies. In addition, the bats pose a problem with the spread of disease, since they are carriers of both rabies and other viruses, and people who are trying to rescue them risk becoming infected by the dying animals. One of the most worrisome is the bat Lyssavirus, which is endemic in some bat colonies in Australia.
There are so many dead bats that in some areas the stench of the rotting carcasses is creating havoc.
Source: AlterNet/1.10.14
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