The tiny Australian town of Ingham with a human population under 5,000 people faced an unbelievable problem when over 500,000 flying foxes took over the town center, forcing schools to close, businesses to shut down, and even preventing emergency helicopters from landing at the hospital. These large fruit bats are protected in Australia because they’re important pollinators and seed dispersers just like bees, so the mayor couldn’t just get rid of them even though residents were begging him to do something drastic. The flying foxes had completely destroyed the beloved Botanical Gardens and war memorial with their droppings, stripped trees bare, and created such a horrible smell that nobody could use the central park or bus stops near elementary schools. Mayor Ramon Jayo refused to harm the animals and instead spent $195,000 hiring Biodiversity Australia, a company run by expert Steven Noy who specializes in peacefully convincing wildlife to move somewhere better. Noy and his team spent three months carefully studying the bats to understand their behavior and figure out exactly where they would go if given the right push at the right time.
When the big day came, the team used drums, saucepans, pyrotechnics with smoke and bright lights at 4 am to create enough noise and confusion that the flying foxes decided to find quieter places to live. The bats moved to nearby wetlands, beaches and mountains where they could still find plenty of food without bothering anyone, and the town finally got its parks and gardens back after years of dealing with the overwhelming colony. Five years later the town still spends $2,000 per month on daily dawn patrols that bang drums if any scout bats try returning, because the older generation remembers their old home and might convince younger bats to move back if nobody stops them.
