Hey everyone,

This year bats are facing harsh climatic conditions, habitat destruction and a myriad of other problems. I hope to raise funds to pay for a bat aviary so we can take more pups into care. This is a last resort; if we don't have space for them, we have to stop retrievals. We have been inundated with pups, and all of the carers across Queensland and New South Wales are at capacity. Carers have been taking on extra pups. It is a very intensive and expensive job raising orphans, and all carers willingly volunteer their time and resources - but our resources are finite.

The purpose of this fund-raiser is to pay for an aviary so that the bat rescue organisation I volunteer for Bat Conservation and Rescue Qld (BCRQ) can take more pups into care. This is a last resort, if we don't have space for them we have to stop retrievals.

A crisis continues in one of our national parks where mothers are disappearing, leaving pups to die. They are primarily grey-headed flying foxes which are listed as vulnerable. Usually, in a season across Queensland BCRQ would take up to 120 pups. This season we have a case where we rescued 180 live pups and found 140 dead in one area alone.

Flying foxes are a keystone species, meaning they are critical to Australian ecosystems and many other species rely on them (for example, koalas). They are long-distance pollinators and seed dispersers and have co-evolved with some native trees that only bloom at night. They are like long-distance nocturnal bees.

I hope to raise at least enough to cover the cost of this aviary being made and transported as soon as possible because the situation is critical. If there are excess donations, they will all be used for the daily upkeep of rescued flying foxes.

I appreciate any support. If you would like to follow their stories I will post them on Instagram on this account; @beautyinthebats