Wildlife Rescue South Coast volunteer Gerry Hawkins looks after Winnie, an educational Grey Headed Flying Fox, who is 15 years old. 

“I have had Winnie since he was four days old,” she said. 

“His mum was killed on power lines and I rescued him from Sydney.

“He is an educational bat and I brought him to Batemans Bay to show people that bats aren’t big and scary. They are quiet loving and very very, intelligent. 

“They deserve a part in our community; they are a key species animal and we have to preserve them at all costs.” 

Ms Hawkins, who also works at the Shoalhaven Bat Clinic and looks after injured or sick bats, said there had not been many injured bats reported in the Eurobodalla. 

“The Batemans Bay Water Garden is part of our area and over the past three or four months, we have had very few rescues from this area, which means they are doing okay here,” she said. 

“The numbers have diminished greatly over the past few months.

“Last time I was down here, the bats were overflowing.

“There seems to be a dramatic decline in the numbers because of the cold weather and the flowering up north.”