I think that it is physically impossible for flying foxes to hold on to 2
wires at the same time with their feet; their legs simply are not long
enough. D. Hansman, a bat freak (batter?) in Townsville says that:
when flying foxes come to roost they fly over the perch, grab it with their
back legs and belly flop, swinging down into a hanging position. They are
electrocuted when their wingtips or thumbs hit a second wire and the
elctricity passes through them. Sometimes a bat is badly burned but
survives and is left clinging to the wire, unable to fly. A lot of
elctrocucians in Tsvl seem to be in September when naive juvenile Little
Red Flying Foxes arrive in the city from out bush. Another problem period
is when female Black FFs are carrying babies and, burdened by the load,
look for clear perches to leave the babies. In many cases the mother is
killed but the baby is unharmed, still clinging to its dead mother. Each
year a few baby Blacks are found abandoned by their mothers on powerlines,
but the fate of the mother is usually unkonwn.
At 13:14 14/03/00 +1000, Philip A Veerman wrote:
>I'm no electrician but I think large bats tend to roost on wires, holding
>onto more than one wire and it is the connecting between wires (or through
>the animal) that causes the problem. Birds tend to only simultaneously
>connect with one wire (fortunately).
>
David James
PO BOX 5225
Townsville Mail Centre,
Qld 4810, Australia
___________________________
To unsubscribe from this list, please send a message to
Include ONLY "unsubscribe birding-aus"
in the message body (without the quotes)
|
