South-East Queensland's bat population is in crisis as the species faces a mass starvation event which is seeing rescue groups inundated with as many as 50 calls a day.

Key points: The Bats Queensland rescue organisation said 80 per cent of its calls were due to the starvation event

The Bats Queensland rescue organisation said 80 per cent of its calls were due to the starvation event The organisation said it was due to a change in climate and was exacerbated by recent bushfires

The organisation said it was due to a change in climate and was exacerbated by recent bushfires On Facebook, people said they were spotting bats low to the ground in their gardens

Ashley Fraser, a rescuer with Bats Queensland, said that in an average week the volunteer service would receive 14 phone calls reporting injured or dead bats.

But on Tuesday alone their Brisbane-based rescue service received 54 reports as a result of a mass starvation event.

"We're having an unprecedentedly busy rescue time at the moment," Ms Fraser told ABC Radio Brisbane's Drive program.

"All of the bat groups, including ourselves and the Gold Coast, are seeing incredible numbers of these bats that are dead, that are food-guarding, and are underweight and malnourished being rescued.

"In the last two weeks we've probably rescued close to over 100 flying foxes. All of these have been emaciated, underweight and just pretty much starving."

Thousands of spectacled flying foxes dropped dead from trees during a week of record-breaking heat in Cairns. ( Supplied: David White )

She said the rescue organisation had also received a record number of calls to retrieve dead bats from backyards and public spaces.

"We're seeing dead bats all over public places and in the streets and a lot of the dead animals have died because of this starvation event," Ms Fraser said.

"We're also seeing flying foxes breaking their natural behaviour and not returning to their colonies in the morning."

On Facebook, people said they were finding dead or struggling bats hanging low to the ground near their fruit and eucalyptus trees.

Bats are nocturnal creatures that primarily survive off fruits, nectar and pollen.

"These bats are actually staying out the back in people's gardens in food trees and this is incredibly unusual," Ms Fraser said.

"They're just so desperate for food that they're just staying out and putting themselves at risk from birds and interactions with other people just to guard these food trees that they're finding."

Angus the bat is one of hundreds of flying foxes currently in care. ( Facebook: Bats Qld )

Ms Fraser said the crisis was mostly isolated to south-east Queensland and northern New South Wales where bushfires have wrought havoc in recent weeks.

"Unfortunately we're seeing a starvation event happening due to deforestation, development and even the recent bushfires and most predominantly, the drought," she said.

24-hour rescue hotlines: Bat Conservation and Rescue Qld (Brisbane): 0488 228 134

Bat Conservation and Rescue Qld (Brisbane): 0488 228 134 Bat Rescue Inc (Sunshine Coast): 5441 6200

Bat Rescue Inc (Sunshine Coast): 5441 6200 Bats Qld (Gold Coast): 0447 222 889

Bats Qld (Gold Coast): 0447 222 889 Bat Rescue: (Ipswich/Western Suburbs): 3062 6730

Bat Rescue: (Ipswich/Western Suburbs): 3062 6730 RSPCA: 1300 264 625

"There's just a lack of food sources out there for these flying foxes who eat fruit and nectar."

Ms Fraser said climate change was driving the deaths, and the public could expect to see mass starvation events among the bat population much more frequently.

"Every year we are having something different happening to our bats, but I think with this sort of change in climate and deforestation and development, we'll be seeing this type of event probably quite regularly," she said.

"Especially on the Gold Coast where there's a lot of development planned; the more resources we take from these bats, the more human-bat interactions we'll start to see".

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 3 minutes 22 seconds 3 m 22 s Rebecca Koller cares for hundreds of flying foxes, spending $1,000 a week on fruit.

It is also orphan season for bats, when the female flying foxes are giving birth and carrying their young, but with 100 bats currently in care, the rescue organisation fears it will not be able to keep up with the influx.

"All of our little flying foxes are pregnant at the moment and they'll soon start giving birth to their babies and because the parents are so malnourished, we can expect more orphans coming into care," she said.

"All of us are volunteers and a lot of us obviously have full-time jobs as well, so it's really challenging trying to fit in all these rescue calls with our other work."

What you can do to help

Rescue organisations said they had been flooded with questions about how people could help the bats through the crisis.

"What we've been recommending to people if they have bats who are naturally visiting their garden is just to give them a little bit of support," Ms Fraser said.

"What we're recommending people make are 'Apple Fruit Kebabs' so that's just a simple mechanism of threading some fencing wire or an old coathanger through some apples and hanging that high in your tree."

Rescue organisations suggest threading apples around trees to feed the bats. ( Facebook: Bats Qld )

If you do see flying foxes in distress, Bats Queensland suggests calling your closest rescue service. They are discouraging anyone from interacting directly with the bats.

"The most important thing if you do see a bat who is alive is, do not touch the animal; there is no risk from the animal as long as you are not touching it," she said.

"If you do see one that is low to the ground then that bat is in trouble so you can call your local rescue group who will come out and pick up that animal.

"If you do have deaths in your garden, once the animal has died there is no risk from it so you can just pick that up with a pair of gardening gloves, put it into a bag and put it into your regular bin.

"They do have quite sharp claws so just be mindful of doing that."