Huge clean up follows mass bat exodus in Charters Towers

The massive colony of flying foxes has largely deserted Charters Towers for another year leaving its council with a huge clean-up.

THE massive colony of flying foxes has largely deserted Charters Towers for another year leaving its council with a huge clean-up.

Charters Towers Mayor Liz Schmidt said most of the colony had moved on by Christmas, providing the town some temporary relief as the council works with the State and Federal governments on a mitigation plan.

“The huge influx had gone by Christmas, which is normal,” Cr Schmidt said.

“There are still bats in (Lissner Park). We don’t have a count because we have been on a break since then.”

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Deane St, which runs through the town’s centre, was closed for weeks over July last year when an overhanging branch, loaded with flying foxes, threatened to break and fall onto the roadway.

Cr Schmidt said council crews would soon begin clearing works.

Retiree Adrienne Wilson said her three mango trees on her King St property were swarmed by thousands of flying foxes.

“They have been roosting in the trees in my yard for four days now and in my 18 years at this house I have never seen it this bad, the stench is unbearable,” Ms Wilson said.

“It is stressing me out. I have been to the council and said to move them on but nothing has happened so far. I can’t live like this.”

Anecdotally, the large roost of red flying foxes is believed to be behind a spate of mystery illnesses among residents.

In 2017 Cr Schmidt told News Corp she had an itchy throat and runny eyes because of the 200,000 strong colony of flying foxes which called her town home. She also held fears for the wellbeing of the frail and young.

Cr Schmidt said the council was acting on a plan to move on the colony. “We’ve been in the process of doing it with the State and Federal government since 2017,” she said.

The State Government allocated $900,000 to research and implement alternative roost management measures for Charters Towers in 2016. However, a question on notice revealed just a fifth of that budget had been spent since then “due to the complex nature of the project”, which has been extended into this year.

Originally published as Huge clean up follows mass bat exodus in Charters Towers