Wildlife carer Denise Wade filmed feeding time with tiny bat Rose at her home in Queensland on Monday, February 13, following a weekend of extreme heat that caused a busy and distressing spell for the carers.

“[Sunday’s] extremely high temperatures took their toll and many [flying fox] camps in south-east Queensland crashed, resulting in the deaths of thousands of flying foxes,” Wade told Storyful.

“Laidley, Gatton, Esk, Lowood and so many more colonies dropped during the weekend heat. Western and northern colonies were most affected and the horrific news on Monday was that there were no survivors in the Kilcoy colony, with thousands of dead bats filling the creek.

“Black flying foxes were the worst-affected species and teams are back out at the affected colonies this morning searching for the living and removing the bodies of the deceased.

“This is soul-destroying work and volunteers deserve a huge bucket of thanks for their dedication and strength of character having to deal with such horrific sights.

“The weather has moderated somewhat in our area thank heavens but the work continues for those in the field,” said Wade. Credit: Batzilla the Bat via Storyful