Tuesday, June 22, 2010

The Bat Man

Being a journalist has its moments, like giving a voice to the voiceless, and opportunities to witness historic events and meet fascinating people.

But one of the things I enjoy almost daily is learning about subjects you never would otherwise.

Today, it was bats. Specifically, the threatened grey-headed flying fox, which you've probably seen/heard/smelt in Sydney's Botanic Gardens.

The Garden Trust has permission to blast them with loud industrial noise so they fly away to who knows where and stop killing heritage trees. As of today those plans have been postponed.

Today's fun was interviwing a man who dedicates his time to bat advocacy. That's right - he speaks up for bats.

Fascinatingly, the poor little fellas have been having a rough time of it, and can't find enough food. So they're underweight and not big enough to be tagged as part of the relocation program, hence the delay.

For a good five minutes I was captivated.

No comments: