Hyojin rescues orphaned flying foxes. Wildlife carers say ‘no bats means no koalas’

Key Points

Formerly a veterinarian in South Korea, Hyojin Yang’s passion for bats led her to Tolga Bat Hospital in Far North Queensland.
Tick paralysis is a threat to Australia’s endangered spectacled flying fox.
Bats play a crucial role in the country’s biodiversity and ecosystem health.

Australia’s unique wildlife draws visitors from around the world eager to witness koalas, kangaroos and wombats in their habitats.

However, Hyojin Yang’s passion lies with a less-celebrated species.

The Brisbane-based Korean migrant said people are often surprised when she mentions her love of Australian wild bats.

Yang, who was a registered veterinarian in a South Korean zoo for five years, now works as a researcher at the University of Queensland.

She said she considers baby bats, or pups, among the cutest animals in the world.

“Spectacled flying foxes have slightly brown areas around their eyes as if they were wearing glasses. As their name suggests, they sometimes look like foxes or dogs,” she said.

Yang’s journey with Australian wild bats began in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“My husband and I wanted to travel around the world to meet more animals. We created a base camp in Australia and visited different countries. However, due to the pandemic, international travel was suddenly banned, and we had to find something else to do,” she said.

Inspired by a previous visit to Tolga Bat Hospital in Far North Queensland, she decided to become a volunteer there, caring for baby bats.

Jenny Mclean (second from left), the director of Tolga Bat Hospital, and Hyojin Yang (fourth from right). Source: Supplied / Hyojin Yang

The hospital, located an hour inland from Cairns, sits in an ecological hot spot, its director Jenny Mclean explained.

“We have got a World Heritage rainforest, (and) the World Heritage Great Barrier Reef right there. So, in this area, we have about half of Australia’s bat species, and we mostly get spectacled flying foxes coming into care, and they’re listed as endangered,” she said.

Tackling tick paralysis

While most bat hospitals around Australia mainly handle injuries from barbed wire, car collisions or power lines, Tolga Bat Hospital deals with the challenge posed by tick paralysis.

“The main issue that we have here, that happens nowhere else in the world or Australia, is that the flying foxes get tick paralysis at the end of every year.

“So we end up with hundreds of orphaned flying foxes because this is the time of year that they have their babies,” Mclean said.

Every day, volunteers go into the camp and find spectacled flying foxes on the ground, especially from October to December when ticks are rampant.

“We will find and remove the tick, and then we treat (the bat) with a very expensive tick anti-serum, the same as a cat or a dog would get treated. And then it’s good nursing care after that,” she said.

A baby spectacled flying fox on the mend at Tolga Bat Hospital. Source: Supplied / Tolga Bat Hospital

However, in some cases, the bats are entirely covered in fly eggs and maggots, and then must be euthanised immediately to end their suffering.

When an adult bat is paralysed by ticks, the baby is usually found under the mother’s wing.

Since baby bats are breastfed for the first six months and are completely dependent on their mothers, human intervention is needed.

At the bat hospital, six volunteers including Yang care for around 250 babies yearly.

“We start the work at 5:30 or 6 am. We bottle feed the babies 4-5 times a day and clean them,” Yang said.

She said looking after baby bats has been an extraordinary experience.

“Originally, cubs attach themselves to their mothers and fly around while being held.”

“So the baby bats are trying to cling to each other and even coming towards volunteers. I have felt that they need me, and I have felt a maternal love that I thought I didn’t have, and it was a touching moment,” Yang said.

Spectacled flying fox pups being cared for at Tolga Bat Hospital. Source: Supplied / Hyojin Yang

In December, baby bats begin to wean off the bottle and start eating solid fruits in a large cage.

Between February and April, they are released into the forest.

“We give names to each of them and build a great deal of affection. It is a very mixed feeling when they leave us,” Yang said.

Hyojin Yang looking after baby bats in Far North Queensland. Source: Supplied / Hyojin Yang

In 2022, following a year of volunteer service, Yang joined Dr Lee McMichael’s research project at the University of Queensland, funded by WIRES grants.

The team investigated treatment outcomes for spectacled flying foxes affected by tick paralysis, achieving higher release rates with oxygen therapy in 2022 and record releases in 2023.

Poor public image

With over three decades dedicated to Tolga Bat Hospital, Mclean underscores the challenges faced by bat carers.

“Bats don’t have a good public image. So if you say you are a bat carer, you get a different reaction to if you say you’re a koala carer,” she said.

The primary concern about bats is the potential spread of diseases, although Mclean emphasised that this is an “extremely rare” occurrence.

Two notable diseases associated with bats are the Hendra virus and the Australian bat lyssavirus.

The Hendra virus can be transmitted from flying foxes to horses, and subsequently to humans.

“Now that horses are vaccinated, it’s a very rare disease. I think there’s been one horse last year with it and one horse the year before. You cannot get it (Hendra virus) from a bat. You can only get it from a horse,” she said.

Tolga Bat Hospital helps flying foxes affected by tick paralysis. Source: Supplied / Tolga Bat Hospital

Lyssavirus is a rabies-like virus. Infection can occur if you are bitten or scratched by a bat carrying the virus, typically within a few days before the bat passes away from it.

“Now, it’s extremely rare in bats. So we get about 1,000 bats a year, and we’d get an average of one every two years, and we’re dealing with the sick and injured population, not the ones that are flying around happily,” Mclean said.

The bat expert explained that even if you are scratched or bitten by a bat, there is no need to panic.

“Wash the wound, go to the doctor, and discuss the fact that you’ve been bitten or scratched, and they’ll decide if you need to get the vaccination. So it’s completely preventable,” she said.

A baby spectacled flying fox at Tolga Bat Hospital. Source: Supplied / Tolga Bat Hospital

Mclean stressed that the best approach with bats is to avoid touching them.

“There’s this huge disease image around bats, but more people die every year from falling off horses or cat-dependent diseases. There were three deaths in 30 years from lyssavirus, and none of them knew what to do,” she said.

‘Without bats there would be no koalas’

Yang said bats are critical animals in the Australian ecosystem.

“Among bats, insect-eating bats, known as insectivorous bats, eat many pests such as mosquitoes. So, cities in Spain and France are building bat houses like this so that the bats can catch and eat these pests,” Yang said.

In addition, Mclean pointed out that bats directly impact Australia’s beloved koalas.

“If you didn’t have bats, you wouldn’t have koalas because flying foxes are the only species that is pollinating the eucalyptus that the koalas eat,” she said.

Mclean highlighted that bats’ long-distance flight ability allows them to transport pollen to trees up to 100 km away, crucially enhancing genetic diversity and forest health.

Hyojin Yang worked for Seoul Zoo as an animal behaviour coordinator. Source: Supplied / Hyojin Yang

Yang, who has travelled extensively through Europe and Asia, observed that funding for wildlife is insufficient globally.

However, she noted a greater public interest in wild animals in Australia compared to other countries, including her homeland of South Korea.

“As Australia has an enormous environment, they (Australians) seem to have a lot of environmental protection education from a young age. In Korea, the government has created a wildlife rescue centre where a small number of experts rescue and treat wild animals. Still, here, ordinary citizens work with non-profit organisations like WIRES, Bats QLD and RSPCA,” she said.

Volunteers, known as carers, play a pivotal role in wildlife conservation in Australia.

“Ninety-nine per cent of wildlife care in Australia is done by volunteers,” Mclean said.

“We’re in a small regional area. We’re not in a city where you’ve got the capacity to attract a lot more volunteers. And we do very well attract international volunteers,” she said.

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