Also speaking, a resident Snow Hearne, said bats have been a nuisance, but things have escalated to a level where everybody has to keep indoor.

“The stench is horrific and the screeching sound, especially in the evening, because it is mating season, is unbearable. We can’t even go out to our backyards. We are held hostage’,she said. Similarly,another resident,Kim Gott lamented that the faeces of the bats covered the park,and there is worry about where to urinate.

“Everything in the park is covered in flying fox faeces and you worry about getting urinated on.‎ It’s affected the town pool – we can’t take kids swimming anywhere. People just don’t go outside because the bats fly everywhere”,she added

However,findings showed that,flying foxes are crucial for the keeping native forests healthy and play an important role in pollinating plants and flowers as well as dispersing seeds over distances.

In the same vein,the animals can host the Hendra and Lyssa viruses, which can be fatal to humans. The spokesperson for Department of Environment and Heritage, Mayor Schmidt said many people have complained about health-related issues, but not “any serious health risk as of yet.”

“No one has said why there is a sudden influx and we also do not have the resources or technical know-how to deal with this huge problem”,Schmidt said

“We need a long-term solution. “We will send a delegation to Brisbane to find a solution as soon as possible.”

Schmidt explained that the council is not allowed to disturb the bats’ natural habitat as one of the two parks in the town is a registered roost for the flying foxes and so it is a protected area protected by the Department of Environment and Heritage.

Schmidt said Charters Towers is not the only place to have experienced high numbers of little red flying foxes in Queensland in the last few weeks.

 

“At the moment it is also mating season for little reds, a time in which males show increased territorial behaviour, and roosts may spread out into neighbouring areas,” the spokesp‎erson said

She said the flying foxes, which are vagrants by nature, will move on after the flowering event.

“Killing flying foxes is not a viable option. Besides the dangers of firearms in town, the animals are likely to be replaced by other flying foxes arriving from elsewhere,” she warned.