Table 2.

Category definitions for circumstances variable.

Category	Definition
Abnormal behaviour	History included screaming/vocalising, self-trauma, attacking other animals or feeding in daylight hours.
Entanglement	Most commonly tangled in fruit netting or fences, occasionally other entanglements such as fishing line or tinsel.
Grounded	Found in an abnormal location unable to evade capture. History often includes the phrase ‘found on the ground’ or ‘unable to fly’ or both.
Found dead single	Single bat found dead without any known pet contact
Mass mortality/morbidity event	Multiple animals found dead or unwell in proximity at the same time or over a limited time period, including heat stress events
Orphaned	Described as orphaned or found with a deceased mother; young bats in care, assumed to be orphaned; or foetus tested as well as mother
Other	Various forms of misadventure such as electrocution or hit by car; other miscellaneous presentations such as part of a research project, or translocation.
Pet contact	Any actual or possible contact between a bat and pet animal—usually dog or cat—regardless whether initiated by pet or bat and regardless of whether bat was alive or dead at the time of contact
Unspecified	No information on circumstances of find recorded.