Arabic version: ارتفاع حاد في ولادات الثعالب الطائرة المبكرة في أنحاء نيو ساوث ويلز

According to ABC News, wildlife rescue groups across New South Wales have received more than 460 reports of malnourished grey-headed flying foxes since late September, following a suspected starvation event before the October birthing season. Volunteers are finding hundreds of premature pups, some weighing less than 40 grams.

Ecologist and wildlife carer Kerryn Parry-Jones said people had found baby bats on the ground, sometimes with placentas and umbilical cords still attached. She said she had never seen large numbers of premature babies arriving in care and described the level of death as huge.

Wildlife Rescue South Coast co-ordinator Trista Thorpe said reports of malnourished bats began rising in late September before aborted pups started arriving. Her group has responded to dozens of calls a day across the Shoalhaven. The smallest pup she weighed was 38 grams, compared with an expected newborn weight of about 80 to 90 grams.

For Australian Wildlife Needing Aid NSW president Meredith Ryan said the pattern had been recorded as far north as Kempsey, where volunteers were finding dozens of deceased pups daily. FAWNA estimates about 95 per cent of prematurely born pups will die in care. Testing of cadavers recovered from the Illawarra found the animals were severely emaciated at death.

The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water said there was no confirmed cause, though temporary food shortfalls could be linked to the cases. Rescue groups have about 40 volunteers able to attend callouts because of the cost of lyssavirus vaccination. Wildlife Rescue South Coast is caring for 53 flying foxes at its Nowra clinic.