Eastern red

Here’s your backup water, Scarlet. Tell the girls about it, but don’t tell them you were our favorite. Love you! So happy to see you orphan girls cruising the treetops together! omg that looks like so much fun! Long Life Little Ones!

We first met you Scarlet, when we responded to someone, referred to us by another bat organization, who wanted to know how to feed a bat, didn’t know anything about bats, was not permitted or vaccinated, but also “doesn’t drive” so could not bring the bat in for proper care. When we first saw you in the big glass jug, we just knew we had to get you out of there. It took a lot of convincing, but we finally got the “rescuer” to agree to release her to our care. He planned to keep her in the jug and feed her moths for as long as she survived. His theory was “it’s like it was dead already since I could capture it”.

We are so happy you came with us Scarlett, and you got that second chance at a wild life. All our love little bat!

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Posted on August 7, 2018, updated on August 7, 2018 by The Refuge

This little eastern red bat boy needs a name! 18-147 just doesn’t have much of a ring to it!
Rescued by Hannah, as grackles surround him on her breezeway floor in San Marcos, she brought him to our info table at the Congress Avenue Bridge last Friday. He wowed those who witnessed the intake process, and all of us marveled at the beauty of this little pup!

Here he gets another meal of his milk-replacement formula as he gets a supervised introduction to the outdoor reds.

And now a mealworm to top off the tank as the flight cage reds in the background anticipate their breakfast.

And finally he takes his place in the flight cage stair-step heiarchy! (That’s him at the upper right)
He’s so little we’ll have to watch him real closely as he introduces himself to all the others

You can do it little pup!

Posted on July 22, 2018, updated on July 23, 2018 by The Refuge

We want people to know that when bats swoop down low inside a building, they are not attacking, they are simply desperately thirsty!

This little red bat was trapped in a FedEx warehouse and was panicked and exhausted from dodging forklifts and floor polishers. She was desperately thirsty and repeatedly skimmed what, in the natural world, would have to be water.

Bats’ echlocation calls bounce away off flat shiny surfaces, instead of back at them, so millions of years of evolution tell them the only thing that has that characteristic (in nature) is water.

Her exertions only gave her a tounge full of floor wax instead of water and after a long while she collapsed on the floor, completely spent.
Steve and co-workers came to the rescue and contained her and brought her to the refuge. Thanks so much y’all!

She had had it with humans by the time she came to us and was as feisty as can be, and that’s saying a lot for a red bat!
We fed and watered her as much as she would let us, and soon it was obvious that she was really wanted to go.

So at midnight, after one last long drink of water and a few more mealworms, we sent her back to the wild from the release platform.

All the best little bat! Thanks for the visit!

Posted on July 21, 2018, updated on July 21, 2018 by The Refuge

Our red bat families are all color-coded (with corresponding control numbers) so that we can raise and release them together. It was the “green family” release time last night and what a joy it was to see them all fly off together on a beautiful summer evening!

These red bats were found by Brad Fellers on the ground at his Leander home and certainly would have been killed by predators had he not cared enought to save them. The orphan was saved by Megan Rodriguez near Anderson Mill.
It was our great pleasure to help the pups grow up, turning from little furry blobs of bat blubber into amazing flying, hunting, and self-sufficient wonders of the night sky.

We placed each bat in a pup tent first and one by one we watered, fed, and showed them their back-up drinking trough; the infinity-edged pool that we’ll keep nice and full for them throughout the oncoming drought.
Here’s one of the pups drinking from the pool.

Once all were fed and watered, it was up to the release platform high in a tree above their former enclosure. They were all super-excited and we first did a controlled release with the mum, then quickly set the pups free to follow her, so they could all stay together.

Here’s the happy family circling high in the sky, celebrating their freedom on a beautiful Texas summer night. Live long lives little bats and make lots more beautiful bat babies! Thanks for the memories!

Please Donate at https://austinbatrefuge.org/donations/ to support Austin’s amazing bats!

Posted on July 20, 2018, updated on July 20, 2018 by The Refuge

This red bat is using her thumbs to stabilize her snooze on this windy day. She has her butt blanket pulled right up over her eyes and it looks like she’s closing her ear with her foot! She was found emaciated on the UT campus but is eating well and will be good to go in a few days. #batifyatx #batifyaustin #austinbats #atxbats #easternredbat #aesomebats

eastern red bat

Posted on April 14, 2018, updated on April 14, 2018 by The Refuge

Here’s our boy pre-release. We’ll miss his antics and amazing leaf dancing!

And here’s his final wave goodbye! He is a fine young bat and we have every confidence he will live a long and happy life!

Posted on October 10, 2017, updated on October 12, 2017 by The Refuge

Morris! Last leaf bat of the year heads out. And what a great bat he was!
You were so much fun little bud! We’ll miss you! All the best!

Posted on October 9, 2017, updated on October 12, 2017 by The Refuge

We love to watch the behavior of the bats while they are hunting. The top photo shows a red bat echolocating a moth above his head just before he loops up to attempt a capture. We’re not sure if he caught one this time, but the bottom photo shows him flying around with a moth he captured a few minutes before the top photo was taken. The photos are obviously out of focus, but they capture hunting behavior so well that we had to post them.

Austin bat presentations outreach programs talks education