Something unusual rained down on residents of Queensland, Australia, over the weekend.
In a bizarre incident, thousands of bats reportedly fell from the sky in the northeastern state. While the mass deaths may seem baffling, it appears Australia's heat wave is to blame.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals confirmed that about 100,000 bats recently died as the likely result of extreme heat in the region, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
"The heatwave was basically a catastrophe for all the bat colonies in southeast Queensland," RSPCA spokesman Michael Beatty told ABC. "That's obviously going to have a pretty disturbing impact on those colonies and those colonies are vital to our ecosystem."
While many in North America suffer through a "polar vortex," Australian residents are experiencing temperatures near 110 degrees Fahrenheit and higher.
"It's a horrible, cruel way to die," Bat Conservation & Rescue Queensland President Louise Saunders told The Courier Mail. "Anything over 43 degrees [109 degrees Fahrenheit] and they just fall."
Just sad.
Peace!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/08/dead-bats-fall-from-sky-queensland-australia_n_4563450.html
In a bizarre incident, thousands of bats reportedly fell from the sky in the northeastern state. While the mass deaths may seem baffling, it appears Australia's heat wave is to blame.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals confirmed that about 100,000 bats recently died as the likely result of extreme heat in the region, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
"The heatwave was basically a catastrophe for all the bat colonies in southeast Queensland," RSPCA spokesman Michael Beatty told ABC. "That's obviously going to have a pretty disturbing impact on those colonies and those colonies are vital to our ecosystem."
While many in North America suffer through a "polar vortex," Australian residents are experiencing temperatures near 110 degrees Fahrenheit and higher.
"It's a horrible, cruel way to die," Bat Conservation & Rescue Queensland President Louise Saunders told The Courier Mail. "Anything over 43 degrees [109 degrees Fahrenheit] and they just fall."
Just sad.
Peace!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/08/dead-bats-fall-from-sky-queensland-australia_n_4563450.html
