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Image from www.ausbats.org.au

Flying foxes explained

Geoff Helisma | Ever wondered why flying-foxes are protected? The answers will be provided this Friday night at the Yamba Cinema when members of Valley Watch, Wildlife SOS and the Australasian Bat Society host a presentation and Q & A on the subject. Imelda Jennings from Wildlife SOS will commence proceedings with an informative talk and slide show. This will be followed by the screening of Wings of the Night, a documentary about flying-foxes – “Wiruungga is a reporter from a small radio station at the Australian east coast. He is also an Aboriginal Australian and his totem is the flying-fox. “So he is out to research not only for his radio program but even more so for himself. He moves to a flying fox camp in a suburb near Brisbane. Here, around 400,000 fruit bats sleep day by day in the trees.” This ties in, to some degree, to the long-running conflict with flying-foxes in Maclean. “Flying-foxes and bats, in general, carry an incredible weight of false myth on their leathery wings,” says a spokesperson for the night. “The Maclean flying fox colony is largely misunderstood by the community, with some in the past lobbying to have the colony dispersed; at times the animals were demonised.” After the film there will be a Q & A and light refreshments will be provided. The show is on Friday 19 October and starts at 6.30pm; admission is $12; kids are free.