Portable cool room for flying fox fruit storage

Portable cool room for flying fox fruit storage

Northern Rivers Wildlife Carers were fortunate to receive a grant through the Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife NSW Wildlife Heroes Large Durable Assets Grant for a new cool room to use at our flying fox release site. The cool room may assist other wildlife, but it is predominately utilized for flying foxes, being Black flying foxes and Grey headed flying foxes (which are listed as a threatened species in NSW and vulnerable to extinction federally).

The cool room allows NRWC to provide good quality, fresh food to wildlife. It will also allow us to assist more flying foxes from other groups. NRWC have one of the largest release aviaries for flying foxes in NSW and have numerous crèche aviaries to allow us to take a large number of flying foxes during heat or mass starvation events and also care for flying foxes affected by drought or bushfires.

Northern Rivers Wildlife Carers have many dedicated volunteers who commit to a daily roster for the cleanup and feeding of the flying foxes at the release site while they are in the aviary and also after release. They will continue to be support fed after release, until they are fully self sufficient and head off to pollinate our forests. It’s rewarding for the volunteers to be up close with the flying foxes and also know they are having a positive impact on the conservation of a threatened species.

Author
Sandra Norris
Wildlife Group
Northern Rivers Wildlife Carers Inc.