Minute With The Mayor Ramon Jayo 25 September

SCIENCE, STRATEGY AND SHEER HARD WORK

When people look back at the flying fox story in Ingham, they often remember the heatwaves. The flying foxes dropping from the trees, the overwhelming smell, and the struggles families faced living, schooling, and working with colonies that grew to hundreds of thousands.

But what’s sometimes overlooked is the extraordinary science, strategy, and teamwork that turned things around. Back in 2019, our community was in crisis. Half a million flying foxes spilled out of the Botanical Gardens and into our parks and schoolyards. The usual tricks — pots, pans, and pool noodles — didn’t make much of a difference, just sending the animals from one backyard to the next.

We needed real expertise. Thanks to the help of biodiversity specialists from Biodiversity Australia, we developed a plan that was both humane and effective.

The science was simple but powerful: make the flying foxes feel unwelcome where they roost but provide them a safe haven elsewhere. By studying their flight paths, past roost sites, and nightly behaviours, we helped guide them out of town and into more suitable habitats.

It was noisy, smoky, and relentless work — more like mustering cattle than managing wildlife — but it worked. And none of this would have been possible without the unsung heroes of the whole effort: our dedicated staff.

Since February 2020, they’ve been up before dawn, every single day of the year, putting in the hard yards to make sure the scouts know the coast is not clear in the botanical gardens. It’s gruelling, thankless work, but they’ve stayed committed, even when the conditions were less than ideal. The long hours, the constant disruptions, and the sometimes-thankless nature of the job, they’ve powered through it all.

The effort they’ve put in isn’t just about getting the job done, it’s about caring for our community, our environment, and the wellbeing of everyone in Ingham. It’s not glamorous work, and it’s not cheap. But it’s vital. It’s the kind of behind-the-scenes, ongoing maintenance that keeps things from falling apart. Like a road that needs constant repair to remain safe for travel, our staff’s daily efforts ensure the flying foxes don’t return in force.

And let’s not forget how serious it got. At one point, the helicopter couldn’t even land at Ingham Hospital because of the flying foxes.

I just want to take a moment to thank our residents. Council knows it’s not easy, being woken up at 4am by all the noise and movement. We really appreciate your patience and also for helping us keep the flying foxes out of your yards. It’s a team effort, and without this, we’d risk going back to the chaos of schools closing, families living in unbearable conditions, and our gardens being lost as community spaces.

Your understanding and support have been just as important as the science and the hard work of our staff in keeping the program on track. What we’ve achieved together is truly something to be proud of.

By combining good science, dedicated staff, and a resilient community, we’ve protected our way of life. This is why the daily maintenance of disrupting the scouts is essential, so we don’t go through this again. So, let’s continue to work together to keep the flying foxes at bay so we endeavour to not fall in this situation again.