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For years I’ve enjoyed walking in our Botanic Gardens. Not now. Since the invasion of flying foxes, a section of the gardens has developed a disgusting stench, which often spreads widely, even drifting through the children’s play area. I haven’t heard anyone say they welcome and appreciate the putrid bat pong. Parts of the garden have the added risk for getting splattered with bat poo. I witnessed just that recently when an out-of-town visitor to the gardens copped a direct hit on his head. He wasn’t impressed. I doubt if other visitors are impressed as they walk through the reeking plop zone on the west side of the gardens. Park Run participants have to run through this disgusting area three times every Saturday morning. Welcome to Castlemaine?!!
Why have these bats chosen our attractive gardens as their dormitory when there is plenty of native bush out there for them to roost in? Perhaps it’s because the exotic deciduous trees are more attractive to them than the indigenous trees which have been perfectly suitable for their entire evolutionary history. Should we be expected to tolerate the invasion of these messy, reeking bat tenants? Their numbers are growing, so the foetid air is not going to improve. Let’s choose to appreciate them out in our abundant native bush, where they should be.
An opposing point of view might be that we have no right to interfere with the natural behaviour of our fauna. However, this argument is not an absolute rule because we do put up high fences to keep roos out of our veggie patch. We place little pointed spikes on our local Post Office ledges to keep pigeons from roosting there. Surely, we’re justified in taking similar preventive action to reclaim our (formerly) pleasant park domain. Or are we resigned to surrendering our unique comfort space to these stinky intruders? Surely there are acceptable, humane ways of encouraging them to return to their natural habitat, thus allowing us to fully enjoy our beautiful Botanic Gardens again.
