New Delhi, Feb 7 (IANS): Nightmarish scenes have been captured on camera showing hundreds of thousands of fruit bats taking over a town in Australia, comfortably outnumbering the human population.

The fruit bat population in Ingham, a small town in North Queensland, has exploded over the past few months, with more than 300,000 creatures taking up residence in trees, the Daily Mail reported.

Fruit bats, also known as flying foxes, live together in large colonies and fly out every night in search of food. Frustrated residents have been living in fear as swarms of bats take over their small town.

As the video of flying bats surfaced on the Internet, social media has been abuzz with reactions.

A user wrote, "Instant reminder of the Hitchcock film...oh, those were birds, how quaint."

Another wrote, "These bats try to get away from China!"

A post read, "Uh oh. I hope we're not on their food chain."

"Bats are harbingers of bad omen, they are virus carriers. They are forced to migrate because of bushfires all over. The climate has changed... it looks like the doomsday is coming soon. The death toll from the epidemic is getting higher, tranquil life is inching away," read another post.