Recently, in the Northern suburbs of Melbourne, Australia, a woman named Sonia noticed a surprising black figure tangled in her cherry tree netting.
Meaghan Scott and Fae Pawley
The animal — an adult grey-headed flying fox — had likely visited the tree in hopes of securing a tasty snack. Unfortunately, the bat soon got caught in the dangerous netting, and now she was injured and hopelessly trapped.
Sonia contacted experts at The Wildlife Rescuers Inc., who sent a team member Meaghan Scott to the scene along with Fae Pawley, of Fly By Night Bat Clinic.
Meaghan Scott and Fae Pawley
When Scott arrived, she explained to Sonia what went wrong. Sonia had been using illegal netting, which isn’t available for sale in Australia, but which can be mistakenly purchased from online retailers like Amazon. Safe netting, Scott clarified, needs to have holes that are smaller than 5 millimeters.
Scott and Pawley prepared a cage for the bat. Then they climbed their ladders, tools in hand. Scott grasped the bat firmly with a towel while Pawley carefully cut the netting away. Once untangled, rescuers wrapped the bat in a towel and began examining her for injuries.
Meaghan Scott and Fae Pawley
The friendly bat quickly relaxed in her rescuer’s hands.
“It’s a funny thing — flying foxes understand that you’re trying to help them astonishingly quickly,” Pawley told The Dodo. “We often chuckle about the way that, much like a pet dog, once you offer them food, you become friends. Members of [the] public often remark that bats are gentle and compliant despite never having interacted directly with a human.”
Rescuers saw that the bat’s wing was injured, and she would need to recover with an experienced wildlife carer. They took her to a safe facility, where a rehabilitator named Emma could help her heal.
Meaghan Scott and Fae Pawley
Today, the flying fox is still with Emma, slowly recuperating and enjoying the company of other rescue bats.
Pawley hopes this story encourages community members to treat bats with the love and respect they deserve.
“By giving members of [the] public a really positive experience with rescue and showing them that flying foxes aren’t the vicious creatures the media portrays them [to be], we hope to garner a positive perception of these important, gentle pollinators,” Pawley said. “Many folks remark that they’re utterly adorable when they see them up close!”
To help other bats like this one, you can make a donation to The Wildlife Rescuers and make a donation to Fly By Night Bat Clinic. 
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