Australian wildlife ‘crisis’ as hundreds of birds and flying foxes ‘fall from the sky’ over Christmas
Hundreds of flying foxes and rainbow lorikeets have dropped from the sky suffering from a mysterious disease.
The animals have been discovered across a wide area in southeast Queensland and northern NSW this past month either paralysed or dead.
Experts have termed the phenomenon Lorikeet Paralysis Syndrome (LPS) and Flying Fox Paralysis Syndrome (FFPS), but little is known about what causes it.
Scientists have found the phenomenon seems to occur more in summer and believe an environmental toxin could be responsible as both species share the same pollen and fruit diet.
Groups involved in monitoring the two populations said it is the worst they’ve seen in ‘five years’ and spreading fast.
Gold-Coast rehabilitation service, Bats QLD, described the recent spike as a ‘wildlife crisis’ and said it was taking a toll on the mental health of volunteers.
‘Something is terribly wrong and we are doing everything we can to help the animals we can help,’ the service wrote in a post to Facebook.
‘For the others the best we can do is ensure a quick painless passing to put them out of their misery.’
Environmental advocated have raised the alarm of a potential ‘wildlife crisis’ after hundreds of rainbow lorikeets and flying foxes were found dead with a mysterious disease (stock image)
Lorikeets with the disease show signs of paralysis, changes to their voice and have difficulty, standing, blinking or swallowing.
Bats are also paralysed by the disease and can be found protruding tongues and struggling to swallow and breathe.
Volunteers for Bats QLD reported finding flying foxes paralysed in water for so long their ‘skin is literally flaying off’ and infected with maggots while still alive.
‘Can you imagine the pain, the fear. It’s literally a living nightmare,’ the post reads.
The group has called for more resources from government departments to research what is causing the seasonal deaths.
‘We’ve had enough of continually calling government departments to ask for help to try and find out what is causing this,’ they wrote.
‘This problem is not going away, it’s escalating and we’re getting more desperate by the hour.’
Research from the University of Sydney revealed no ‘infectious agent or man-made toxin’ as being the cause of LPS.
The animals were either found dead or on the brink of death (pictured) having been paralysed by the disease without a cause of the disease currently being known
While not being able to find a direct cause, the research suggests the lorikeet-based disease could be due to ‘ingestion of a toxic plant’ in the area.
‘The seasonality of the disease suggests a blooming/fruiting period of the toxic plant that occurs during October to June,’ the University’s website reads.
‘The distribution of the locations where lorikeets are found is not random, suggesting that if a toxic plant is the cause of LPS, the plant occurs in some areas but not others.’
Bats QLD president, Rhiannon Traish-Walker, said the disease isn’t a death sentence and volunteers rely on citizens to report any incident to increase their chances of survival.
‘It is crucial to encourage people to call for a rescuer as soon as they see a bat alone during the day or close to the ground,’ Ms Traish-Walker told Yahoo.
‘The sooner we can reach them, the better their chances of survival.’
