They'd be dead right now if it wasn't for a small group of carers who have opened up their hearts - and their homes - to help these tiny creatures.

Scorching temperatures up to 50C had left them on their death bed in December. Tiny, and too young to fly, they were separated from their mothers and stuck in the tree canopy at their camp in Tenambit.

With unrelenting sun shining in between the branches, and intense radiant heat all around, their time in this world was quickly running out.

They were desperately moving further and further down the tree in search of a cool spot, and would most certainly have perished without human intervention.

The rescue started an around-the-clock care regime. The bats need to be fed a milk replacement every four hours. Their wraps have to be changed beforehand so they aren't laying close to their feces. The milk also has to be a certain temperature.

Once they've all been fed the soiled wraps have to be washed and dried for the next change - and all of the bottles and teats thoroughly cleaned.

"It's like having 60 or 70 babies, it's that full on," Hunter Wildlife Rescue Maitland LGA coordinator Carole-Ann McGarry said.

"Some don't want to be fed and are fussy. Some are quite happy to be fed, some want to chew on your finger, some want to climb on you because they want a cuddle.

"You don't get sleep, it's around the clock care.

While most of us found a cool spot to endure the 40-plus degree temperatures in December, Ms McGarry was checking on the bat colony every few hours.

And it's not just any bat camp. It's one that is home to three of the four flying fox species - grey head, black and red, and that's very significant.

When the bats started moving down towards the ground she phoned her carers network and they went in with long pants, a long shirt, and boots. The images she encountered once inside the thick undergrowth remain vivid in her mind.

"There was carnage everywhere. There were dead bats all over the ground and we were stepping on them - it was that bad. There wasn't space to go around them. We only go into a camp when the bats are clearly in distress. Until that point we observe them from outside the camp," she said.

"Seeing so many babies in distress without a parent is the worst part. Seeing the babies and mums dead all over the ground was horrific.

"It hit about 45 or 48 degrees on one of those hot days, but inside the camp it was over 50 degrees."

The handful of vaccinated volunteers pulled the bats from the undergrowth and used long poles to catch ones still hanging in the tree.

Each one was wrapped in a wet towel to bring their temperature down and given glucose and intravenous fluids.

They were transported to a carers house where they were triaged and given treatment.

Adult bats were often ready for release within 24 hours. They saved what they could. The death toll was unsettling.

Across the Lower Hunter it was a similar story. About 25,000 bats have perished this summer while just 300 - mainly young bats - were rescued.

There were so many baby bats to care for - and not enough carers. The group applied for permission to send some to Queensland and a number of wildlife groups in northern NSW also stepped in to help.

Ms McGarry drove 60 bats to Ipswich, stopping at Armidale to bottle feed them and offload some to carers there.

They will spend many months learning how to be a flying fox before they are gradually released into the wild.

A matriarch flying fox teaches the young ones how to behave and act in a large enclosure.

Then they are moved into a pre-release area where they are let out at night and can return to roost and feed.

It's a safe place for them, and they know it, but eventually they find their feet and don't return.

It's fair to say not everyone shares the same passion for bats. Many consider them an annoying pest in residential areas.

Ironically, these animals hold the key to help rejuvenate burnt bushland and are more important than ever.

They've had a tough run these past couple of years. The drought has made food sources scarce and while they mainly enjoy a pollen-based diet, they have been forced to move onto fruit.

Anyone with fruit trees has been urged to take the nets off and let them feed. If that's not possible at least use tight netting to stop injury and death.

"They need to have a food supply to survive and to be resilient so they can do what they need to do for the environment," Ms McGarry said.

"They are seed and pollen dispersers. They fly such large distances and when they defecate they are pollinating and dispersing seeds in the environment. They are so vulnerable and so hated. Someone needs to love them and want to save them."

Ms McGarry said some Tenambit residents wanted to help the bats and reached out if they saw any in trouble.

Others offered the use of their hose and brought her cold drinks and ice blocks on those very hot days. She was so grateful for their kindness.