A wild population of flying foxes have once again migrated into Queens Park creating a need to temporarily close the Ipswich Nature Centre.
The centre is currently closed while further investigations are conducted to assess the situation.
Council officers will monitor the flying foxes and will determine the suitability for reopening early next week.
More than 5,000 flying foxes make the surrounding trees their home during migration.
There are three species of flying-fox roosting within the park – Black flying-fox Pteropus Alecto, Grey-headed flying-fox Pterpopus poliocephalus and Little red flying-fox Pteropus scapulatus.
Council officers will assess if the high number of little red flying foxes are posing a risk to public safety in the park.
Although only weighing 600g each, little reds roost in tight clumps which causes the branches to break.
They also tend to roost lower in trees than other species, increasing the risk of contact with anybody who is walking by, particularly along the elevated boardwalks of the Nature Centre.
Ipswich Nature Centre staff would remain working at the centre.
The animals will also remain, however they may be moved from their usual enclosures and monitored to keep them safe.
Like all native wildlife species, flying foxes are protected under the Queensland Nature Conservation Act 1992.
Flying foxes have been found in the area infected with Australian Bat Lyssavirus that is dangerous to people.
To manage the safety of visitors to the Ipswich Nature Centre, staff have implemented extra cleaning and maintenance of the trees.
Flying foxes are an important pollinator and disperse seeds of native trees across large distances.
The Ipswich Nature Centre was also forced to close for more than a month in February 2019 because of the migrating visitors.