Animals suffer through Australian heat

Hundreds of bats have died and a dog owner was charged with animal cruelty amid sweltering conditions in Australia, authorities say. Sydney experienced its hottest day since 1939 on Sunday when the mercury in the city's west hit 47.3C (117F). Bats, possums and birds have endured the most heat stress among native animals, according to wildlife workers.

Giant extinct burrowing bat discovered in New Zealand

The fossilized remains of a giant burrowing bat that lived in New Zealand millions of years ago have been found by a UNSW Sydney-led international team of scientists. Teeth and bones of the extinct bat -- which was about three times the size of an average bat today -- were recovered from 19 to 16-million-year-old sediments near the town of St Bathans in Central Otago on the South Island.