The Flood family just became new members of the bat protection squad!
Thanks y’all for your act of compassion!

Here’s their post:

“We rescued this darling little Mexican Free-tailed bat earlier this evening as he was grounded in the middle of the road and nearly hit by several passing cars. We brought him home and called Lee and Diane at Austin Bat Refuge…they took him in and knew just what to do! 💕 Thankfully he had no broken bones and he seemed to be very healthy. Afer some TLC from Lee and Diane @ Austin Bat Refuge, it sounds like he’s going to be ok and will most likely be released back into the wild! 😊So thankful to them for all they do for these little guys… 💕If you ever find a grounded or injured bat, make sure to give them a call….and donate if you can! They have the biggest hearts for these little guys and do so much to house and care for the injured bats. Good people!!! Good cause!!!


Dear Bat Friends,
Please remember the little ones as we count our blessings.
Donate Now! to help Gabe the red bat and pups like this free-tailed baby.

eastern red bat austin bataustin bat Congress Avenue Bridge

As we enter the holiday season, the world celebrates community, supporting the causes that make the world a better place for all its inhabitants.  In our first year, Austin Bat Refuge has already created a center of gravity, attracting donations and a small core of young interns, many or whom will go on to careers in wildlife work.  In this season of giving, we ask you to get involved and support Austin Bat Refuge, the only organization in Central Texas caring exclusively for orphaned, injured, and displaced bats.

Your kind donation is critical to bats, our fascinating friends and allies.
Donate Here to help these wonderful, misunderstood beings.
Or write a check and mail to:
Austin Bat Refuge
P.O. Box 49902
Austin, TX 78765

Here are other ways you can show your support:
Sign up for our Newsletter:
Volunteer:
Donate Items:
and yes, as many of you have done, even
Rescue a Bat in Trouble

or simply:
Follow us on Social Media:
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram

Those of you who have brought us an injured bat may have received the following note from us, thanking you for your efforts.  We’ll include it here for those of you landing here from social media:

Dear Bat Friend,

Thank you for your kindness in taking the time to rescue the bat you brought to us; we are in awe of the people who have gone so far out of their daily routine to help an animal in trouble.

We hope that you found it a meaningful experience. It meant a great deal to the bat you rescued, and to us; you are part of an ever-growing group of people who care for an animal that many find, at best, unlovable.

Attempting to rescue a bat can seem frightening for people who encounter them, displaced or injured, around their homes or workplaces, and you may even have been ridiculed by those who don’t understand that bats are worthy of care. But you know how rewarding it can be to make the effort to help wildlife.

If it is possible for you to donate, we ask for your financial assistance so that we can continue to serve as a refuge for the injured and orphaned bats that are brought to us by caring people like you.

Your donation will help save the lives of many more little bats in trouble, like the one you saved.
Please Donate Here

And please become a part of our team by joining our Bat Pack!

austin bat Austin Bat Refuge eastern red bat  austin bat
austin bat free-tailed bat Congress Avenue Bridge   austin bat

Austin Bat Refuge cares for these bats in a setting that minimizes their stress and fear.  Once critical care has stabilized them, they recover in a natural outdoor setting prior to release.  If non-releasable, they live a high quality of life with us in the bat gardens or in spacious indoor habitats with plenty of enrichment. Our many visitors have hearts and minds changed by the experience of seeing bats as we care for them. And seeing them in a natural setting is an educational opportunity leveraged by our social media that serves to counter eons of negative myths about bats.

We have cared for close to 750 bats in recent years (139 so far this year), with the majority of them being released back into the wild. If they make it through the first few days, we have a success rate of approximately 86% (which includes those non-releasable individuals living out their lives in our refuge).

Your tax-deductible donation to Austin Bat Refuge will be deeply appreciated, and promptly acknowledged with a document for your tax deduction.  We are an all-volunteer, state-permitted 501(c)3 NON-PROFIT organization and receive no government funding.  Our costs (not counting volunteer time) can be under $20 for a healthy, quickly-released bat to $200 or more for a bat with a broken bone. Bats that live out their lives in our refuge incur ongoing costs to keep them healthy and well fed.

It is our privilege to care for these orphaned, injured and displaced bats, and your support will give us the ability to do more. Please give us and them a helping hand by mailing a check to our P.O. Box address or contributing to Austin Bat Refuge at this link: Donations

ANY DONATION AMOUNT IS APPRECIATED! And if you can’t give money, please consider donations of volunteer time or items on our Wish List

Thanks so much for caring about these noble, valiant, and amazing flying mammals.

And do please become a part of our team by joining our Bat Pack! 

You’ll get our ABR Newsletter with notices for our springtime Bat Walks!

Thanks so much,

Lee Di (3)

Lee Mackenzie
512-695-4116
leemack@austinbatrefuge.org

Dianne Odegard
512-799-8847
Dianne@austinbatrefuge.org

Austin Bat Refuge
https://austinbatrefuge.org

 

 


Kyndal Irwin Intern Summer 2016

Kyndal Irwin (& Zonker)

Kyndal is a sophmore at the University of Texas and taking a heavy course load in their College of Biological Sciences.  Genetics and Bio-Statistics will serve her well in her career in bat work.
We love having her as part of the team!

Congratulations Austin Bat Girl, on completing the summer intern program at Austin Bat Refuge!
Your dedication went above and beyond a call of duty!
You are now an ABR Certified Bat Handler!

The loving care you gave the Bat Class of 2016 ensured they got the very best start to their new, wild lives.
Or, as you would put it, in your own inimitable way:

“After months of making a determined team, the bats and Austin Bat Refuge are proud to say, that together- WE DID IT! ”
This pup says “I’m ready to be released! Thanks for the help, humans!”

Tonight, many of our bats will return to a life in the wild! Get on with your bat self! We’ll miss you guys, thanks for all the fun!”

austin bat refuge rehabilitation release rescue


LG, a northern yellow bat, fell from the top of a very tall palm tree when it was cut down.  He was severely bruised all over his body and was in such great pain that he could barely lift his head when he was brought to Marsha Price, our amazing, wonderful friend and bat-savant at our Houston branch.  Marsha at first thought he had a fracture on his right wing shaft, but after a while she determined that it was just severely bruised.  She nursed him back to health slowly but surely over the next few weeks, to the point where he needed the aviary to see if he would be releasable.  Now that the mum & pups are gone, we can better tell about LG’s flight skills.  Here’s a photo of him cruising the aviary last night and we can see that he has a some damage to a joint in his right wing.

LG Copyright
Upon examination, it is obviously inflamed, so we’ll give him Metacam to reduce the swelling and see if he’ll let us check his range of motion in a few days.
He does fly and land quite well, he just doesn’t fly all night like the yellows we released last week.  We hope he shows enough improvement to be released before winter, but if not, he’ll be well taken care of while helping with our pest control in the flight cage Winter Garden.


This bat had fallen into a back-porch bucket during all the rains last week.  She managed to tread water ’till morning, when Matt & Christina found her and rescued her.  We made sure her thumb claws were not damaged (luckily it was a plastic bucket), and then brought her out to the flight cage to make sure she could sustain flight.  We tried a non-toxic tempura paint to ID her (it’s messy if they struggle and swat the paint brush) and you can still see a hint of red on her left ear as she is released back into the wild.  Good bat, nice knowing you!

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Vibrant young newcomers to the wild Austin nightlife scene, five shining stars took their rightful place in the sky last night. Dianne Odegard does the honors as the last of this year’s yellow pups wings her way off into the night, surveying her new domain and a possible palm tree roost.

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Di & yellow bat at Poquito Creek

austin bats rehabilitation release yellow bats lasiurus intermedius

Yellow soaring up to the stars

austin bats rehabilitation release yellow bats lasiurus intermedius

home sweet home for our yellows (we hope)

 


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.

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