Two-weeks-old Troy suffered heat stress. Picture by Sarah Thorpe, Landcare Australia

ABC News: A sanctuary for orphaned fruit bats on Sydney’s North Shore (Australia) has been expanded to house more pups and adult bats.

Every spring up to 100 fruit bat orphans are hand-reared by wildlife volunteers, then taken to the Kukundi shelter at Lane Cove National Park.

Their mothers can die from natural predators, flying accidents and entanglement in power lines.

baby bats injured by electrocution (on power lines) wait for milk. Landcare Australia

“They will go to backyard fruit. And they will get tangled in backyard fruit netting. And this does terrible things to their wings so they can’t fly,” said Tierre Thorpe from wildlife carer organisation Sydney Wildlife.

“They often get caught on power lines so they get electrocuted,” she said.

The breeding season is in October when it is all hands on decks for volunteers.