Found a Bat?
Love this link from Bat Conservation Trust about How to Contain a Bat.
But here in Central Texas, call our Austin Bat Refuge Hotline at 512-695-4116 or 512-799-8847
http://www.bats.org.uk/pages/containingabat.html
bridge bats
Eating practice
Catching prey is only half the battle! Bats still have to curl & kick to subdue their catch while flying. This eastern red male still needs to refine his technique!
What a great mum!
This is an eastern red bat mum that has four nursing pups. (Yes, it’s the bat you brought us Laurie, we found another pup tucked under her wing!) She flies very well, as do two of her pups, the other two are not yet volant, but they all find each other the next morning. She is doing a great job raising these pups and we’re happy to help her get over that little glitch that found her grounded.
Eastern reds have four nipples. Both nipples on her left side are visible in this photo and it’s apparent that the lower one is offset, to the outside, from the midline of her chest. That offset allows all four pups to fit symmetrically so that all can nurse without overlapping. Overlapping would cause more jostling for position, attracting attention from predators, and so has been evolutionarily eliminated.
26 West pup
This evening bat pup had been hanging low on a wall for a day and a half over in West Campus UT. He was brought to us to make sure he’s OK and we marked his ear with some yellow eyeshadow . He is only half the size of an adult, but foraging on his own and here we see him practicing his drinking skills. He made around ten passes over the drinking pond, slowly calibrating his approach, getting closer and closer each time and eventually getting two or three gulps of water.
We’ll give him about a week of practice, then set him on his way in a more wooded area where he’ll find an evening bat roost in a hollow tree. He found the other evening bats in our bat box easily enough, so we’re sure he’ll do the same in the wild.
What a cool little bat! Thanks to Rachel Ellerd and Carin Peterson of UT Animal Make-Safe
Morning after First Flight
We opened all the pup tents last night for the first time. We played lifeguard for a while as the pups rolled out, some in flight and some on the ground! We picked them up one after another to give them another chance to drop into flight. All of them got it by the end of the night, but some were low on the flight cage walls in the morning. We are so proud of them!
These two pups found their mum and here all are enjoying a nice breakfast
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39 intakes 2 weeks!
We just took in our 103rd bat of the year, 39 of which came to us in the last 2 weeks.
June is always crazy around here and this year is no exception.
We’ve had bats of seven species this month; northern yellows, southern yellows, Seminoles, eastern reds, free-tails, velifers, and evening bats.
It’s crazy, exhausting, and exhilarating work. But what a priviledge and an honor to be able to give these pups a second chance at life.
Dripping reds
This red bat family was found grounded in the middle of a side-street in Dripping Springs. The young single-mum was a pup herself just last summer and she may have been struggling to feed and manage her young family. She was emaciated, and was so lucky that Jacque spotted her before the grackles or bluejays did. Nice save Jacque! She and the pups have been rehydrated and their bellies filled and are now having a snooze at the top of the aviary. She knows she and her pups are safe for now.
That night the mum flew and the pups watched her for a while, then the bigger pup joined her. The little pup felt pretty lonesome and after a while took her very first flight. Both pups negotiated all the other flying bats and landed successfully at the top of the cage. By morning they had found mum and the whole family was snoozing together once it got light.
Littlest pup after first flight!
Older pup
Pups have to watch out for the other flyers
Waiting for mum to return
The next morning mum roosted in the sun, we had to shade them
D-Day pup
This pup (D-Day) found himself on the wrong side of Congress Avenue Bridge on June 6th. Dianne, on her rebirth day, was called by a worried tourist and went down and belly crawled under the railing to rescue him. He probably crawled out of his crevice looking for a mum that got picked off by a predator. He was born a little early (average date of birth for free-tails is June 10th and he was likely born in late May) but lots of pups were 2-3 weeks early this year. We’ll do our best for this little guy and hopefully release him back at the bridge once he’s graduated from ABR Flight School!
Renee’s pup
Renee found this bat on 11Mar2017 near her front porch in the rain, weak and not moving. We hand fed him for eight days to build up his strength and last night he took his first few flights in the aviary. He was out of practice and not real strong that night, but tonight he did much better, even took a few drinks on the wing! He should be ready to go soon!
Texas Night Sky Festival 2017
We had a blast at the Texas Night Sky Festival on Saturday March 18th.
We met so many people and introduced them all to Buffy, Gabe, Freida, and Nikita.
It was so much fun to see all those smiling faces.
Thanks Kyndal Irwin for spending the last day of SXSW with us out in Dripping Springs!
You were so great with all those kids! We’re proud to know you!
