Bats.
And when I say bats, I mean over 10,000 flying fox bats. They are so loud when you walk through the gardens; their smell is overpowering even the rose gardens. They are also killing the trees:
This tree is typical of 19 trees that have died because the bats are nesting in it; and this tree is one of 40+ where every branch is covered with sleeping, cleaning, preening, chattering bats. At night, you can see them taking off to hunt.
During the day, they roost in the Botanic Gardens. The city is going to have chase them out before their breeding season begins, which is quite soon. Poison isn't an option as the bats are needed to pollinate trees and flowers as well as control the insect population. But, when you have 10,000 bats, you certainly have one too many bats.The gardens also have wild cockatoos that let you get quite close as they dig for worms and bugs in the ground. I much prefer these guys-- they are prettier to look at and don't smell as bad.
