In addition to keeping the flying foxes cool, the system is also designed to reduce heat stress among plants and tree ferns in the park.
The system was trialed for the first time this January 23-25—the middle of Australian summer—when temperatures climbed as high as 106 degrees.
Data logging devices show the temperature in the test zone dropped by up to 36 degrees and the heat stress index also dropped. No flying fox deaths were recorded.
City of Greater Bendigo’s Coordinator Heritage Gardens and Amenity Landscapes, Orrin Hogan, said researchers also observed positive behaviors from the flying foxes.
“Some flying foxes were a bit startled when the system first activated, but we soon saw individuals moving closer to the sprinklers, stretching out their wings and licking water droplets,” said Mr. Hogan.
There were very different scenes at Rosalind Park in the summer of 2020 when up to 220 flying foxes died from heat stress when temperatures soared past 104 degrees. It was one of a series of mass mortality events in eastern Australia caused by a record-breaking heatwave.
Flying foxes often experience fatal heat stress when temperatures eclipse 108 degrees. The threat to the species is growing, with climate change driving more extreme heat events.
“Climate change is the single greatest threat to Australia’s flying foxes and the problem is only going to get worse,” said Dr. Rodney van der Ree, an ecologist at WSP Australia—a planning, environment, and infrastructure services company—who is overseeing the cooling system trials.
