Hello there, make yourself at home. Well maybe not that much at home ……
Diva is a beautiful Seminole bat who came to us for flight training. She did not fly well at first, landing low on the flight cage walls, where we found her each morning for the first week and a half. Now each morning we find her sleeping high up at the peak of the aviary, meaning she’s flying stronger and can swoop up higher before securing her grip. We can watch her do many flip turns at the top of the cage before finally landing for the day. Good work Diva!
Groot goes back to the wild! Our wonderful Seminole pup Groot was released last night at Jerry and Jim Czyzak’s property in Red Rock, TX. Jerry found Groot in her swimming pool back in July and brought him to us for drinking lessons. He soon learned to judge his angle better as he swooped down for a drink, but never forgot his pool experience. We could never get him to take more than a drop of water, even on the hottest days when others drank a whole syringe!
Last night he went home and brought with him two female Seminole friends. Those of us who witnessed the release have a feeling there will be lots more baby Seminoles at Jerry’s place next June! 🙂
The Seminole Girls were rescued by Tracy Rider and came to us from TWRC. They gave us so much joy as they learned to fly, then drink on the wing. They were among the most dependable drinkers and were the subjects of many of the drinking videos. Love these bats!
Best of luck Groot and you wonderful Seminole girls! We loved getting to know you all and will miss hanging out with you in the flight cage! We will keep with us your friendship and the memories of your trust in us. Thank you for being so patient with us and knowing we would find a great spot for you. This property has tons of pine trees, part of the Lost Pines of the Bastrop area, and you all will make fine faux pine cones as you hang in the pines all day awaiting the nightly hunt. Our thoughts will be with you always.
Here’s Groot when he first came in as a juvy. What a beautiful bat!
This pup was saved from a swimming pool skimmer by Jerry early Sunday morning.
He’s a juvenile Seminole bat, and was likely attempting to drink on his own for the first time when he crashed in the pool. Once in the water he could not escape, even though Jerry had a ramp for trapped wildlife. So please be like Jerry and have ramps, leave floaties in the water, and check those skimmers every morning. Give little beauties like Groot here a second chance!
Left to right: Evening bat male, red bat female, Seminole bat male
These pups should all still be with their mums and they know it. The bat milk replacer doesn’t taste the same and the mealworm guts are interesting, but not what they really want. They would normally be getting a taste of insects at this age by nuzzling their mum’s mouth, and they seem to need the supplemental nutrition with the milk replacers we use. Once they eat some guts, they end up with the worm in their mouths as a pacifier and pretty much just zone out. See video below:
Sometimes they tilt their heads back like a raccoon eating a grape!
What a great release last night! Such a joy to see them leap from the pup tent and circle above us in the twilight! We’ll miss their nightly insect hunting competition in the flight cage, but our hearts and minds go with them as they soar the night skies, ranging as high and wide as their hearts desire, flying wild and free! Indelible memories little bats, thanks so much!
Oh and your’re not quite ready to go yet sweetheart? Then you can stay with us, we’ll try again later.
