A city with an urban bat problem hopes to lure a large flying fox colony from the CBD to nearby swampland by appealing to the animals' maternal instincts.
More than 1,100 baby spectacled flying foxes were found dead or orphaned in the Cairns CBD last breeding season amid increased construction activity contributing to stressed mothers abandoning their young.
The orphaned pups were taken to a specially built enclosure on the Atherton Tablelands about an hour away, where carers observed their power to attract other bats.
It was the inspiration for the initiative endorsed by Cairns Regional Council to build a similar enclosure for baby bats, in the hope of luring a large spectacled flying fox colony away from the CBD.