I am working on an academic paper on flying-foxes and the discomfort that people experience from them. I presented this paper at the 2025 conference of the Australasian Animal Studies Association in Toowoomba, Queensland (Nov 5 – 7). The paper is almost ready to be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal.
In this study I analyse the nuisance calls made to the Wildlife Victoria hotline about flying-foxes. This gives me a good insight in the experience of discomfort, including emotions of fear, annoyance, worry and anger, surrounding the bats. It also sheds light on how people try to navigate this experience currently.
In my presentation, titled Flying-foxes and the generative potential of discomfort, I explore how this discomfort can inform educators (such as myself) and policy makers about the aspects of emotional management that are necessary to live with flying-foxes. This can hopefully lead to practical suggestions that facilitate multispecies coexistence in Australia.
