To Australia, with love
Hi everyone! I hope you all had a good week, Happy New Year, and Happy New Decade! Much of Australia is currently on fire. So far tens of thousands have had to evacuate, hundreds of millions of animals have died,…
Tag Australia
What’s a wattle??
Hello everyone! I hope you all had a good week. I had a pretty good one because it started with a snow day. That’s right, it finally snowed! While it has been cold and wintery here in the US, people in Australia are in the middle of summer. And with Australian summers, come fires. Because there are so many fires burning in Australia right now, I decided to research an Australian bat. There is a cute little bat called the Chocolate Wattled Bat. Unlike most bats living in Australia, these bats are micro-bats! They have milk-chocolate brown fur, which is where they get their name. They also have a pink nose and a cute, squishy face. They like to roost under bark and in tree hollows in south-western Australia. Their diet consists of moths and beetles. And the Chocolate Wattled Bat will hibernate in the winter when the insects aren’t always around. Although south-western Australia isn’t known for being cold, it does get chilly. And with food scarce, they can’t eat enough to keep them warm. These bats do have a few predators including hawks, owls, cats, wildfires, and humans. If you would like to read more about the Chocolate Wattled Bat, you can find information here and here.
No good sticky situation!
Hi everyone! I hope you all had a good week! Yesterday, it was so windy that they cancelled school and I got to stay home! I did the sensible thing and slept ’til noon. It was great! This week’s blog is a bit sad. It’s about something that needs to be said, but it makes me sad to think about it. This week’s blog is about glue traps. These traps are very harmful to animals. And I’m not just talking about the flies that people are trying to catch. These things hurt other animals, including bats. A glue trap is basically a piece of cardboard, fiberboard, or a plastic board that has been coated with an incredibly sticky glue. It is a sort of nontoxic way to control pests (the glue sometimes contains insecticide). The problem with these traps is that they catch animals indiscriminately and the animals that are caught cannot break free. I totally understand that people don’t want insects, mice, or snakes in their houses. But, these traps are cruel. Animals are stuck in these traps for hours or even days. These traps don’t only catch the intended animals, but they catch any animal that happens to come by. Whether the trap is inside or outside, it can catch birds and bats in addition to other animals. Earlier in the week, I saw a story about a Lesser long-eared bat that had been caught in a glue trap and couldn’t get free. A lot of microbats get stuck in these traps because they hear all the tasty bugs, and don’t realize there is a danger hidden underneath their dinner. The poor little bat struggled to get out of the trap so much that he dislocated one of the small bones in his wing, and ripped the tape […]
Running hot and cold: Good for some, not so good for others
Hello everyone! I hope you all had a good week. I had a great one. The reason it was so awesome was because I had a “snow day” on Monday. That’s right, they cancelled school for the day because there was a possibility of freezing rain! I got to sleep in and watch TV. ? And do you know what makes that snow day even better? Thanks to that day, I will not need to go to school for an entire 5 day week at all in January!!! That’s right. There are “teacher work days” scheduled for the end of the month. Personally, I believe I could get used to this sort of thing. And now for the bat news…It is not good news. If fact, it is very sad news. As you all know, Australia is experiencing summer while we are experiencing winter. On the 7th, a very bad heatwave hit south eastern Australia. This is causing a lot of the flying-foxes to die of extreme heat exposure. The temperatures in Australia have hit record highs of 42-43 degrees C. For those of us in the US, that translates to 107-109 degrees F. In Sydney, the temperature got as high as 45 degrees C (113 degrees F). The poor bats can’t handle that kind of heat combined with the high humidity. As soon as they noticed the bats dying, volunteers began monitoring the bat colonies in Campbelltown, Parramatta Park, Yarramuni, South Creek, and Emu Plains. Bats were dying by the hundreds and volunteers raced to help those who could be saved. Volunteers rushed more than 40 young flying-foxes into critical care. Sadly, they were unable to save them all. Another day, volunteers braved the heat to save hundreds of little pups who have been rehydrated and reunited with their […]
A Christmas cookie bat!
Hi everyone! I hope you all had a good week. I am excited because it is almost Christmas!!! I love Christmas! I have been eating so many Christmas cookies that we need to make more to give to our neighbors! I learned an interesting Christmas fact the other day. In Australia, Santa’s sleigh isn’t pulled by reindeer. It’s pulled by kangaroos! I think it’s totally awesome of the kangaroos to give the reindeer a break for a little while. I’m sure that after flying around so much of the world, they are tired and appreciate the help of those kangaroos. Since the kangaroos are so helpful, I thought I’d look up some bats from Australia. You know I just love the little bat burritos down in Australia, but I found another adorable bat to talk about this week. It’s called the Chocolate Wattled Bat. It has chocolate brown fur on its back, and light brown fur on its stomach. It has a lobe on its lower lip that looks a little like a wattle. This bat also has the most adorable little nose. Its nose looks a lot like a pug dog’s nose! I have a pug dog, so I really like this bat’s nose. ? Chocolate Wattled bats eat a lot of insects. They really like chewing on moths. These cute little creatures live in the southern parts of Australia and in Tasmania. They are very common in Victoria, Australia. They live in forests, woodlands, and in farm areas. These bats also like to roost in tree hollows and in buildings. Their colonies are made up of 10 to 20 bats. If you would like to learn more about these adorable little Australian bats, you can find information here. I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!