Tel Aviv residents go batty over bats

Hundreds of the nocturnal creatures have taken up residence in a giant ficus tree in the yard of an apartment building Rehov Fierberg.

By MIRIAM BULWAR DAVID-HAY (TRANSLATED)
Residents of a central Tel Aviv street are being driven batty by bats, reports Yediot Tel Aviv. Hundreds of the nocturnal creatures have taken up residence in a giant ficus tree in the yard of an apartment building on Rehov Fierberg, and residents say their lives have turned into a nightmare while the building's owner and the municipality argue over who should be responsible for cutting down the tree. According to the report, residents say they have been unable to sleep at nights because of the bats. "Our lives are simply unbearable," one resident said. "We have turned to the city again and again, but no one there seems to react. I'd like to see how the people in City Hall would deal with it if they had bats hanging over their heads." A municipal spokesman said that because the tree was in a private yard, it was the building's owner who was responsible for dealing with the problem. But the owner, ironically a legal adviser to the municipality, has refused to take any action in the matter, leaving the residents "batting" their heads against a brick wall.