Strobe lights and black outs: Australian power companies seek to reduce bat electrocutions

A hanging offence … fruit bats are often electrocuted when they land on power lines. Photograph: Brian Cassey/The Guardian

It’s an increasingly frequent occurrence on Australia’s east coast – a fruit bat foraging for food lands on a power line to rest.

The flying fox (as it’s also known), spreading its wings before taking flight, touches a second power line and is electrocuted.