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https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/jul/25/sprinklers-to-cool-victorias-largest-permanent-flying-fox-colony-over-summer>
"Victoria’s largest permanent flying fox colony will be able to keep cool over
summer thanks to a custom-built $180,000 sprinkler system.
The sprinklers, part of a $5.3m wildlife boost in May’s state budget, will be
up and running within months at Melbourne’s Yarra Bend Park to help protect a
local colony of up to 50,000 grey-headed flying foxes.
Area chief ranger, Brendan Sullivan, said temperatures above 38C can prove
fatal to the bats, which are listed as a threatened species.
“The idea with this irrigation system is to keep that ambient temperature below
40C so the bats aren’t getting pushed into that extreme level of
thermo-regulation,” Sullivan said Monday.
The state’s environment minister, Lily D’Ambrosio, said the fruit bats play a
vital role in pollinating and dispersing seeds for native forests, and global
heating is creating hotter and longer summers, making it harder for them to
survive."
Good news! I’ve often visited the local flying foxes.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
