Tweed Valley Wildlife Carers

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Sara's Story

Grey-headed Flying-Fox

Prematurely aborted by a mother fatally entangled on a barbed wire fence, this is the story of one of our most misunderstood but endearing mammals.

Grey-headed flying-foxes usually give birth to a single pup from October to December, and this year was no exception. 2003 had been a very busy year for our small group, with so many flying-fox rescues coming in predominantly from barbed wire entanglement. As the first baby of the season was reported coming in at Coffs Harbour in late September, our small group of bat carers in the far north of NSW readied themselves for 'arrivals', making sure we had teats, dummies, milk, and heat pads at the ready.

We had 11 babies in the group this year, [3 were found homes with other groups due to overloading] and Sara was the first to come in. I received a call from the phone volunteer that a lady had been handed a baby flying-fox whose mother had been terribly entangled on a barbed wire fence. As is sadly so often the case, the mothers' desperate attempts to free herself resulted in injuries too severe to survive, and like many mothers caught on wire had aborted her baby prematurely.

I phoned the lady who called, and met her at a local village. Baby flying-foxes like so many mammals are dehydrated, in shock, and very frightened. The lady had wrapped up the little one keeping her warm, and making her feel safe. Doing the right thing in those first few minutes after the rescue can mean the difference between life and death, and she had done everything right. The baby was named Sara after the rescuer.

A quick look confirmed that she was probably premature, and still had the placenta attached. Baby flying-foxes spend the first few weeks of life attached to mums nipple, and in care we use a blind teat as a dummy to add to their feelings of security. I rewrapped the baby around a rolled up face washer, popped a dummy in her mouth, and then wrapped her up and placed her head down in a heated basket. She now felt secure and was on the first stage of recovery.

Before doing anything else we have to stabilise the baby, starting with getting their body temperature back up, as baby animals unable to thermo regulate lose heat very quickly. They have just been through a terrible ordeal losing their source of security – mum, and the first few days in care are vital to restore that feeling of safety. Gentle voices, no loud noises, and lots of reassurance.

Most baby flying-foxes arrive terribly dehydrated, needing sub-cutaneous or even inter-peritoneal rehydration, but because she'd only just been born, Sara only needed oral hydration with Glucose in water. The 20 minute drive home in a heated basket had started the warming process. Once home, the placenta was snipped off and she was quickly weighed and measured before being placed head down, snuggled up amongst towels in a heat box. Time to leave her for a while and make a coffee. We measure their forearms to determine age, and her measurement put baby Sara at about 4 days premature.

An hour later Sara was lovely and warm to the touch. A thorough examination revealed no injuries from the wire [mum had protected her till the end]. Now she could have her first drink. Full strength milk substitute is a big shock to their systems, so for the first few feeds after initial hydration we dilute it with boiled water, gradually increasing the ratio over the course of the first 24 hours.

Our local paper has been wonderful with articles on injured and orphaned wildlife, helping to raise public awareness, and being the first baby of the season, Sara duly got her photo in the paper. Photo left.