It seems there may be more bats in the Eurobodalla than there is people.
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The bats first moved into town in large numbers in 2012.
The population has outgrown the Batemans Bay Water Garden and now we have bats in nearly every suburb in the Eurobodalla.
They are now in Catalina, Tomakin, Batehaven, Malua Bay, Surfside, Moruya South Head and even Narooma.
We aren’t the only town in the thick of a bat population though. There are flying fox problems in Singleton, Cessnock and other communities in the Hunter.
It is promising to see Eurobodalla Shire Councillors vote to take this issue to the state and federal governments on behalf of the community.
However, one has to wonder – why now? why didn’t this happen four years ago?
Following their decision, Bega MP Andrew Constance hit-back at council for not applying to the state government to disperse the bat colony earlier.
He urged them to do so urgently.
Some have said it may be too late to find a solution now that they have spread.
I know it is not as easy as killing all the bats or chopping down all the trees, but surely a solution could have been found already.
I understand the vital role bats play in our ecosystem, being one of the only species which pollinates night-flowering plants, but is there really a need for them to be listed as critically endangered?
One would think not when you see the large numbers flying over the Clyde River of an evening.
The bats are cute and charismatic and if they were a couple of kilometres away from residents they could be a tourist attraction rather than a repulsion. I love Siberian tigers, and seeing one in the wild would be awesome, but not in my backyard, thanks.
The residents living behind the water gardens are at breaking point – they don’t want to live there, people don’t want to visit them and they are sick of wasting hours cleaning their decks, cars, paths and windows.
A lady told me this week she has stopped going to events at the Batemans Bay Community Centre because the smell of the bats is too bad.
This is people’s lives we are talking about and they are being affected enormously. There are no bats where I live, but I do feel for those who are living among them.
– Emily Barton