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Fruit Tree Netting - September 2010 |
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At this time of the year our flying foxes are basking in the sun up North but a few remain in the valley and brave our winter. This has been the undoing of some. On 8 July I had to go into Grafton to rescue two Black Flying Foxes from fruit tree netting over a very large mandarin tree in Powell St. They were both very close together in the tree and were very ticked off. The larger of the two males lashed out and his teeth nipped a finger but fortunately didn’t break the skin. After great difficulty I cut them both out and with the help of Teresa and a friend I cut the netting away. Unfortunately the larger one had terrible damage to his wings and had to be euthanised. The smaller had much less damage so I took him into care. I explained to the caller how to secure the netting but she said she would have her husband take it down on the weekend. One week later it was still there. She was protecting mandarins her family don’t eat. Two days later I had to go to Greaves St to get one out of a small orange tree. Fortunately she was okay so she went into care to for a bit of R & R. After a few days of being well fed I released her and the little male. On 24 July I was called again to go back to the same house in Greaves St for two more – in the same tree. The caller had been on holidays for a week. These two – both Blacks – a male and a female were both very tangled and dead. The male (on the right) had the net at least eight times around his neck. He had only been dead a day or so. The female had been dead for some time. Her wings were very dry and brittle and she was very stiff. Both had suffered terribly from stress, dehydration and starvation. The caller swore “they were alive last night.” I had also told them how to secure the netting but they to ignored me. Because of their refusal to listen I had three dead flying foxes. If any of our carers know anyone who uses these fruit tree nets will you PLEASE explain the correct way to use them. The Law says they MUST be pulled tight and anchored to the ground or pulled in tight to the trunk of the tree and tied off SECURELY. The reason for this is as the flying fox crawls up the net they drag it with their feet. It tangles, they struggle and get totally wrapped as you can see in the picture. There have also been cases of possums and birds trying to get to the fruit and getting tangled. It is also dangerous for the rescuers with the risk of bites to get them out. Please secure the nets or let the critters share. They don’t eat that much – there is probably more on the ground than they eat. Sandy Webb (Flying Fox rescuer) |
