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Megabat Rescue: Flying Foxes Released Into Wild

<p>Flying foxes suffering in extreme Australian heat.</p>
A wildlife carer releases a Grey Headed Flying Fox in Centennial Park in Sydney, Australia, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2014. Each year thousands of native wildlife are rescued by volunteers when anti bird netting thrown loosely over fruit trees entangles birds, bats, and reptiles. The Grey Headed Flying Fox is classified as Vulnerable to extinction by the NSW Department of Environment & Heritage.
A wildlife carer releases a Grey Headed Flying Fox in Centennial Park in Sydney, Australia, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2014. Each year thousands of native wildlife are rescued by volunteers when anti bird netting thrown loosely over fruit trees entangles birds, bats, and reptiles. The Grey Headed Flying Fox is classified as Vulnerable to extinction by the NSW Department of Environment & Heritage.Rob Griffith / AP

Wildlife volunteers in Sydney released a pair of grey-headed flying foxes in a city park Wednesday.

The megabat, which has been classified as vulnerable to extinction by local authorities, was among several species that suffered in the extreme heatwave that hit parts of Australia last month.

And the weather is not the creatures' only problem. Each year thousands of birds, bats, and reptiles become entangled in anti-bird netting thrown over fruit trees, The Associated Press reports.

Image: Flying Fox Justine Coplin
A grey-headed flying fox is released in Centennial Park in Sydney on Wednesday.Rob Griffith / AP