5000 dead bats fell on the people in the town of Casino, Australia in one weekend

Here's something that probably felt like the end of days for the population of one town in New South Wales, Australia.

As temperatures soared in the north of the territory, thousands of flying foxes have died, with many simply falling out of the trees and piling up on the ground thanks to the 44 degree heatwave. Health officials had to move in to warn the public not to touch the animals for fear of catching viruses similar to rabies and other illnesses, with workers warning the public that they shouldn't even help living bats as they could bite and scratch out of fear and infect them.

It was like a scene from The Birds in Casino as thousands of flying foxes fell dead from trees http://t.co/v8tyqSnzQc pic.twitter.com/n7zXnLxdNY — Matt Cullen (@Mattcullen1976) November 18, 2014

And in sadder news, hundreds of baby bats that survived the heatwave are now in need of care and the services there are not able to cope with the demand, with local wildlife rescue teams calling in for help from neighbouring units and getting fire services to spray trees with water to stem the mass death.

Next time you see a bat in Ireland, maybe leave a little fruit out for it.

Via Daily Telegraph