Ugly

By Bridget Brady
Mike Blewitt spotted something on his nature strip when he opened his curtains on Friday morning and after closer inspection he realised it was a dead bat.
“It had a big tooth sticking out. I’ve never seen one close up before. They are pretty ugly,” he laughed.
With its patch of orange, Casey Visintin from Victorian Wildlife said the bat would have been a grey-headed flying fox, which he says has the intelligence of a three-year-old child.
The grey-headed flying fox is a vulnerable species in Victoria and Mr Visintin said the bat Mr Blewitt found would most likely have flown from its colony at Yarra Bend Park.
“They only eat fruit so they fly out at night and can fly up to 30 to 50km in search of food,” Mr Visintin said.
The bat could have been affected by the recent heat and been stressed or got caught in netting people used over their fruit trees, Mr Visintin said.
He said the grey-headed flying fox was “completely misunderstood” and that there was only one bat in the world that fed off blood.
“They’re just amazing little creatures. They are completely harmless and very intelligent.”