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Speaker 1: We've learned over the last couple of days that dead

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Speaker 1: bats are being found across Catherine, prompting a warning from

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Speaker 1: rangers about the deadly lysavirus. Investigations are underway into why

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Speaker 1: those bats are dying, but it's not.

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Speaker 2: Believed to be from suspicious causes.

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Speaker 1: Now joining me on the line to talk a little

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Speaker 1: bit more about the situation is Catherine's Community Engagement ranger

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Speaker 1: Stacy Kesner.

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Speaker 2: Good morning to you, Stacy, Good morning, Thanks so much

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Speaker 2: for your time this morning. Stacy.

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Speaker 1: How many of these bats of rangers found dead around

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Speaker 1: the town.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, We've had quite a few call outs to come

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Speaker 3: and remove sick and injured bats and we're finding potentially

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Speaker 3: like up to twenty to thirty bats that are dead

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Speaker 3: under the colonies. Yeah, and there's quite a few colonies

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Speaker 3: around Catherine that that's happening too.

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Speaker 2: Yeah.

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Speaker 1: Right, So is that sort of per day, Stacy or

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Speaker 1: that throughout the week?

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Speaker 2: How often are you talking?

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Speaker 3: You know, we're getting a few call outs in the week,

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Speaker 3: a couple of call outs and just having conversations around

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Speaker 3: the community. People have been men mentioning it in passing

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Speaker 3: and what's the like.

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Speaker 1: What is the understanding at this point in time about

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Speaker 1: what's causing their disk do we know.

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Speaker 3: We have had investigate and take samples and we're not

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Speaker 3: sure on their results of those yet. The ecologist that

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Speaker 3: we work with based in Darwin, she said it has

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Speaker 3: happened in the past and it could be a lack

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Speaker 3: of food and because they're having to work quite hard

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Speaker 3: through the nighttime foraging around Catherine, and if there's not

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Speaker 3: enough blossom for them to eat, their potentially starving. Yeah.

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Speaker 2: Right, that is really interesting.

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Speaker 1: I've not I mean, look, I don't know a huge

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Speaker 1: amount bats, but I've not heard something like that before.

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Speaker 1: But based on what you said, it's it doesn't sound

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Speaker 1: like it's the first time that it's happened.

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Speaker 3: No, it's I know wildlife ranges in Catherine have said

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Speaker 3: it has happened previously. I'm the same. I haven't noticed

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Speaker 3: it either in my time in Catherine. But it is

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Speaker 3: quite sad to see so many suffering. I guess though,

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Speaker 3: it is maybe a natural process that does happen to it.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, and I suppose, like my assumption is that there

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Speaker 1: is probably quite a large bat population in Catherine.

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Speaker 2: Is there.

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Speaker 3: Oh, it's not large. It fluctuates throughout the year. Because

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Speaker 3: they do migrate with the availability of food. So at

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Speaker 3: the moment we've got black flying foxes in Katherine. I

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Speaker 3: have had a report that little red flying foxes have

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Speaker 3: roped up at Eta Falls on lilians at nit Molook

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Speaker 3: National Park. It sounds like they are coming to town

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Speaker 3: following the food sauce.

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Speaker 2: But yeah, how interesting.

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Speaker 1: Now, tell me what a sort of what a local saying.

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Speaker 1: And they're clearly getting in contact with you guys, But

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Speaker 1: what are they saying.

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Speaker 3: They're they've got concerns and they're coming in and reporting

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Speaker 3: what they're finding under the trees under the colonies, and

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Speaker 3: they're doing the right thing. They're coming and letting us

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Speaker 3: know parts and Wildlife Northern Territory. If they're found and

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Speaker 3: injured or sick back, they are calling so that we

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Speaker 3: can come and remove the sick and injured bat.

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Speaker 1: And Stacey tell me I know that, you know, there's

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Speaker 1: obviously it sounds like there's a bit of work underway

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Speaker 1: happening to determine exactly what's going on. But it is

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Speaker 1: really prompting a warning as well from rangers about the

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Speaker 1: deadly Lisa virus as well, isn't it.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean that can have the potential to carry

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Speaker 3: list of virus and in Australia, and it's really important

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Speaker 3: just to remember not to touch a sick or injured

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Speaker 3: bat and that there are trained wildlife ranges and wildcare

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Speaker 3: also can help remove those sick and injured animals to

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Speaker 3: lower the risk to the community.

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Speaker 1: And so if somebody does have a dead or injured

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Speaker 1: bat near their house or you know that they've come across,

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Speaker 1: what's the best thing for them to do.

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Speaker 3: The best thing to do is call parks and wildlife

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Speaker 3: and wildlife rangers will come around and remove the animal.

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Speaker 3: Also wildcare also provide that service also, all right, and are.

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Speaker 1: These sort of health risks associated? I know obviously just

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Speaker 1: touched on the list of virus, but it does sound

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Speaker 1: like there are some health risks associated because I guess

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Speaker 1: you know, most of the time, if there is dead wildlife,

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Speaker 1: quite often you do just sort of, you know, remove

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Speaker 1: it yourself. But if you're going down that process of

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Speaker 1: contacting the ranges and contacting wildcare, it sounds like there

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Speaker 1: are some further risks associated with touching those bats.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, you know, I think you have to. You know,

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Speaker 3: we're all vaccinated as wildlife ranges, you attend and that's

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Speaker 3: the prevention from the virus. If you're scratched all bitten accidentally,

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Speaker 3: I mean, obviously the best thing to do is not

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Speaker 3: to touch them. But if you are bitten or scratched,

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Speaker 3: go to a hospital or a clinic, the nearest one,

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Speaker 3: and they will start the process of getting you vaccinated.

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Speaker 1: Yeah right, well, Stacey, it sounds like an interesting time.

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Speaker 1: I bet it always is for you guys, for the

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Speaker 1: Rangers in Catherine, always plenty going on, no doubt.

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Speaker 2: Lovely to talk to you this morning.

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Speaker 1: I really appreciate you having a bit of a yarn

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Speaker 1: to us about that situation with the bats.

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Speaker 2: Great thanks Katie, Thank you,