Name: No, Aussie bats won’t give you COVID-19. We rely on them more than you think
Brand: theconversation.com
SKU: theconversation-com-69
Availability: OnlineOnly

critic

No, Aussie bats won’t give you COVID-19. We rely on them more than you think

preview

provides funding as a founding partner of The Conversation AU., , and provide funding as members of The Conversation AU.In this pandemic it’s tempting to look for someone, or something, to blame. Bats are a common scapegoat and the community is misled to believe getting rid of them could be a quick fix. But are bats really the problem?Australian bats have been in the news recently for two main reasons: the misplaced fear they might carry COVID-19, and overblown reports they carry a koala-killing virus.This recent bad press has seen increased against Australia’s bats, as well as or “move on” bats that live close to people. Because fewer bats would mean less disease, right? Wrong. Here’s why.COVID-19 is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. This virus is one of thousands of coronaviruses found in mammals all over the world, most with no impact on people.A closely related virus has previously been identified in a species of horseshoe bat in , so it’s probable the ancestor of the SARS-CoV-2 virus originated in bats.Read more:While several coronaviruses have been detected in various Australian bat species, none are closely related to those viruses associated with zoonotic (animal-borne) diseases like COVID-19, SARS and MERS. And none have been recorded to infect people.Australian bats also recently appeared in the news because of the discovery of a retrovirus in black flying-foxes related to koala immune deficiency syndrome. Some news outlets have falsely suggested bats pose a risk to koala populations.But clearly stated the proposed transmission from bats to koalas happened long ago, on evolutionary time scales. What we see in these species today are two separate viruses - there’s no evidence the virus detected in today’s bats can infect koalas, let alone cause disease.There are about , including 81 in Australia.All of our bat species are native and unique. Most are small, nocturnal, and call outside of the human hearing range, so the average Australian to see more than a couple of species in their lifetime.This is important to remember when it comes to thinking about how often they actually interact with people.Most Australians tend to think of “bats” as the two species of flying-foxes (or “fruit bats”) we commonly see in our cities: (in the south) and (in the north).Flying-foxes have had a tough few months. Many Eucalypts failed to flower, so food shortages saw , and then many more in this summer’s extreme heat.They were also that burnt large tracts of the bats’ winter feeding areas.Flying-foxes show up in urban areas in search of food. Many residents equate seeing more flying-foxes to the species increasing in numbers, and are frustrated that the bats are classified as threatened.In fact, grey-headed flying-foxes have experienced substantial in recent years. While there are currently hundreds of thousands, historical data indicate that .Nonetheless, bats are not always easy to live close to. Their fly-outs make for , but colonies can also create a lot of noise, smell and mess.This, plus , including from COVID-19, has meant are calling for the eviction of bats from urban areas by any means possible.Read more:Managing bats in urban environments . Flying-foxes have complex movement dynamics, which makes “dispersing” them from urban areas extremely difficult.Those who advocate for to be carried out often cite the Sydney and Melbourne Botanic Gardens as examples of successes. But these took place over months and years, large areas, and cost more than A$2 million each. Relatively cheaper dispersals have also been attempted, but .Read more:Culling is an equally . Most Australians accept that needless killing and harming of native wildlife is unacceptable, and reflect this.There are the obvious , but from a practical perspective, proposing we could cull (by shooting) flying-foxes in densely-populated urban areas to effectively reduce populations is also completely unrealistic.What’s more, attempts at both dispersals and culling are known to have the undesirable effect of splintering colonies, and driving stressed bats into surrounding areas (parks, residential backyards, school grounds). Essentially, increasing people’s exposure to bats.could also promote viral shedding. Flying-fox populations are already struggling to recover from severe food shortages, extreme heat events and bushfires. So advocating such actions is misguided, with the potential to amplify, rather than alleviate disease risk.No, – we rely on them more than most people realise.Many bats are voracious predators of insects and their service to the global agricultural industry is worth .Flying-foxes also help maintain the integrity of forests by providing . That makes them integral to the recovery of Australia’s forests from .Read more:The fundamental issue is not the viruses in bats. SARS-CoV-2 is now a human virus, and we are responsible, knowingly or not, for its global spread.The “epidemiological bridges” that we’ve inadvertently created – which increase our contact with wildlife through encroachment into natural areas, habitat destruction, and unregulated wildlife trade – are what’s really to blame.Write an article and join a growing community of more than 152,000 academics and researchers from 4,476 institutions.

provides funding as a founding partner of The Conversation AU., , and provide funding as members of The Conversation AU.In this pandemic it’s tempting to look for someone, or something, to blame. Bats are a common scapegoat and the community is misled to believe getting rid of them could be a quick fix. But are bats really the problem?Australian bats have been in the news recently for two main reasons: the misplaced fear they might carry COVID-19, and overblown reports they carry a koala-killing virus.This recent bad press has seen increased against Australia’s bats, as well as or “move on”...

public

Alison Peel

Independent news website. Only publishes articles written by academics and researchers. No paywall, no ads. #weneedexperts

No, Aussie bats won’t give you COVID-19. We rely on them more than you think

No article scores yet.

CRITIC REVIEWS

PUBLIC REVIEWS