About 100,000 bats have fallen from the sky and died during a heatwave in Australia that has left the trees and earth littered with dead creatures.
In scenes likened to "an Alfred Hitchock thought bubble", a heatwave across the north-east state of Queensland in recent days caused mass deaths of flying foxes from an estimated 25 colonies.
Health experts have warned residents not to touch the dead creatures amid concerns about the spread of virus or bites and scratches from bats that may still be alive. At least 16 people have been are receiving antiviral treatment after coming into close contact with a bat.
The stench from the rotting carcasses has begun to disturb residents of Brisbane and large towns. Authorities have dispatched rubbish collectors to pick up thousands of carcasses from populated areas.
The RSPCA said the heatwave could have a devastating effect on the state's wildlife.
"The heatwave was basically a catastrophe for all the bat colonies in south-east Queensland," a spokesman, Michael Beatty, told ABC News.
澳大利亞的酷熱天氣導致10萬只蝙蝠從天上掉落死亡，樹上和地上到處散落著蝙蝠的尸體。
近日澳大利亞東北部昆士蘭州的熱浪導致25個蝙蝠聚居地的蝙蝠大量死亡。這個場面被媒體描述為“希區柯克電影般的場景”。
健康專家警告居民不要觸碰蝙蝠的尸體，以防造成病毒傳播，或被依然存活的蝙蝠咬傷或抓傷。至少有16人因為和蝙蝠近距離接觸而在接受抗病毒治療。
蝙蝠尸體腐爛的惡臭已經開始困擾布里斯班和較大城鎮的居民。當局派出環衛工人去人口密集地區清理成千上萬的蝙蝠尸體。
英國皇家制止虐待動物協會稱，這次熱浪將可能對該州的野生動植物帶來毀滅性后果。
該協會的發言人邁克爾·貝提告訴澳大利亞廣播公司說：“這次熱浪對昆士蘭州東南部所有蝙蝠群落都是場大災難。”