If you've seen any bags tied up or taped to poles in your neighbourhood, there's a good chance it means an animal has come to an unfortunate and untimely end.
Wilston resident Craig Alpen was alarmed when he spotted a white bag taped to a power pole in early March.
He said he could tell from the flies and the smell that whatever was inside was not alive.
Friends and neighbours told him power supply organisations had a policy of bagging up animals that perished on or near powerlines and notifying the council so the remains could be collected.
Energex spokesman Danny Donald confirmed that this was the case.
Mr Donald said 445 electricity outages across Queensland last year were caused by wildlife getting caught on powerlines or in transformers.
Preventative measures
Possums and birds were the most common causes, but teams had seen everything from frogs to snakes interrupt the power network.
"Generally power outages are the primary issue the animals cause as a result of striking powerlines or crawling into hard-to-reach areas of equipment," Mr Donald said.
"Wildlife guards on power poles are designed to stop animals from climbing up them, we increase the separation between powerlines to reduce the risk of bat/bird strikes and clashing wires and the use of bundled insulated aerial cables and spreaders on the high voltage and low voltage networks reduces the risk of clashing wires when hit."
Energex also uses bird-proofing network designs, including highly visual reflective disks installed on powerlines, especially near wetlands and other areas where there are large bird colonies.
Mr Donald said the company also worked with component manufacturers "to have wildlife-proofing integrated into transformers and other pieces of equipment".
What to do if you spot a problem
If there is a deceased animal in powerlines near your house, call Energex on 13 12 53.
Energex will remove the animal from the lines, put it in a bag and leave it for the council to collect.
For deceased animals on motorways or highways, call the Department of Transport and Main Roads on 13 19 40.
Councils collect data on deceased animal sightings associated with vehicle strikes to inform prevention strategies.
If someone finds a sick, injured or orphaned wild animal, call the RSPCA on 1300 ANIMAL (1300 264 625).
