Bats are my favorite animal and it breaks my heart that they're always the scapegoat. Rabies? Bats. SARS? Bats. COVID? Bats. They're very unlikely to pass on rabies, despite what that rabies copypasta might have you think because they die quickly from it.
Grey-headed Flying-foxes; Eastern Park, Geelong, Victoria, Australia; February 2019
How cute is this guy? Called, Tal'ngai Dha'run, which means 'white wing' bat, he had been treated at the Australian Bat Clinic & Wildlife Trauma Centre in Advancetown, Australia.
Tal'ngai has leucism, which causes the loss of pigmentation.
And, these are wonderful plushies from the Wild Bendy Workshop. (Sold for $675!)
Anyway! Heres a staple of Australian Nightlife, the Grey Headed Flying Fox! We commonly call them fruit bats, due to their diet being made up of mostly Fruit and Nectar!
An interesting fact for you! Australia is free of traditional Rabies (Another important reason we are so careful about transporting pets) but we do have ABLV or Australian Bat Lyssavirus which has on occasion been spread to humans.
The Australian music scene has been strong for the past 15 years. From "dolewave" to driving post-punk to punk, many of my favorite bands have come from down under.
Soft Covers (Melbourne, Australia) is one of the best new Australian bands I've heard in a while. Listen, and you might not think they sound much different from Go Get Mum, The Stroppies or Boomgates. And you know what, you might be partly right. But those vocals, melodies and hooks are just astounding. "The Real Housewives of Porpoise Spit" is one of my favorite songs of 2023, and "Every Week" sounds like it could be an early Chills song (or The Bats/Minisnap: Kaye Woodward!!).
This is being released by Brisbane-based label Little Lunch Records (they also released the excellent LP from Renovator's Delight).