A colony of flying foxes has returned to Nerima Gardens, and Ipswich City Council staff will attempt to move them on in the early hours of Tuesday morning (9 April).
Works Parks and Recreation chief operating officer Bryce Hines says it’s never ideal to undertake a dispersal.
“But we’re at the start of the school holidays, and it’s in the interests of public safety that we move them during this period,” he said.
Council staff will be making loud noises, banging objects, and using lights in an attempt to encourage the flying foxes to move away from the Nerima Gardens roost.
Actions are done in accordance with the State Government’s Code of Practice for ecologically sustainable management of flying fox roosts.
The Department of Environment and Science has been told about the dispersal.
“We’ll probably have to do this for a minimum of three days but may need to go longer for the dispersal to be a success,” Mr Hines said.
“We’ve been sure to let people in neighbouring properties know what’s going on. Central State School and Ipswich Kindergarten have also been told.”
In February, about 5000 little red flying foxes made Nerima Gardens and the area surrounding the Ipswich Nature Centre home.
At that time, council wasn’t able to undertake dispersal due to the number of pregnant flying foxes and newly-borns.
Instead, the nature centre was closed for more than a month.
