Australian megafires burn critical habitat of 'Vulnerable' virus-harboring bats

Loss of habitat in Australian bushfires may drive Hendra- and Lyssa-infected bats closer to human populations
Researchers studied bushfire incidences from 2012 to 2020 within eastern Australia, and found that the severe megafires that occurred during 2019-20 were much larger and more concentrated across the landscape than in previous years.
Image: Matt Palmer, Unsplash
Australian megafires burn critical habitat of 'Vulnerable' virus-harboring bats
Sara LaJeunesse
July 15, 2021
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The severe megafires that occurred in eastern Australia during 2019-20 were much larger and more concentrated across the landscape than in previous years, according to a study by researchers at Penn State and the University of New South Wales. The unprecedented fires included the burning of 34% of the foraging habitat of grey-headed flying foxes, which are known to transmit deadly Lyssa and Hendra viruses.

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