Mexican free-tailed bats are built for speed. Their long narrow wings are just one of the adaptations that rank them among the fastest bats.
They are, however, also remarkably agile in tight spaces. They use bone structure and muscle fibers to change their wing aspect ratio to short and broad, allowing high maneuverability when necessary.
This Mexican free-tailed pup was found 17July2016 under Congress Ave Bridge. This was the first day the skypuppies took flight this year and it seems a mid-air collision grounded him on the footpath. Bat watchers correctly refrained from handling him and when they alerted us, we brought him back to our facility for care. We discovered that his forearm was curved in a manner reminiscent of the arches of the bridge, so of course he was named Archie and we expected he would likely not become volant. To our delight, he was not to be denied the joys of flight! We left his pup tent open to the flight cage and he bravely joined all of this year’s pups in the aerial circus that resembles a nightly fighter jet dogfight. He also flits around in the afternoon gliding like a butterfly before cleverly finding his way back to the pup tent for snacks!
We will closely monitor his skills to see if he is up to the fall migration, if not he’ll stay with us and enjoy hunting moths in the bat garden. Good pup Archie!
Elise found this pup on her doormat back of 18 July 2016 and, being the kind-hearted person she is, took the time to carefully contain the pup in a box (without touching it!) and call us. He was a very young juvenile who seemed to have let go of his bridge roost before he was quite ready. After weeks of blended mealworm dinners he was finally doing the wing stretches and one-arm pushups that let us know he’s ready to try again. So last night we brought him out to the aviary and after just a little encouragement, he took off and flutter-puttered all around the cage till we lost track of him in the darkness.
It’s really surprising just how slow the pups are when they first take flight. They have a puppy-like appearance with their little ears sticking straight up and a slightly alarmed expression on their faces. It’s so great to see them slowly gain confidence and soon start to shred the enclosure!
Thanks Elise! You’re simple act of kindness meant a lot to us, but it meant the world to this pup.
Elise’s pup
The bridge bats get all the press but these little beauties live in trees all around us and hardly anybody knows about them! Help us take care of our local bats by donating at austinbatrefuge.org. Pictured is one of this year’s red bat orphans.
The Center for Biological Diversity and Defenders of Wildlife petitioned the US Fish & Wildlife Service this week to list the Tri-colored bat as endangered. This petition recognizes the impact of WNS spreading into the Southeast and Midwestern US.
TricoloredBatPetition_06-14-2016
Hours old new-born Mexican free-tailed bat pup.
The face that gets hundreds of millions of Central Texas mums out of the roost each evening to go to work in the agricultural fields.
Check out that cute little nursing nose; like all mammals, makes it easier to nurse and makes the pups even more irresistable.
Look at the color change as they get older – black when tiny turning a beautiful mahogany as they near adulthood.
Pup 2 on the left about 12 days old – 2.9 grams – being fed every 3 hours
Found in a Houston backyard next to an apartment complex being demolished. He was still clinging to his dead mum when Savannah rescued him. Thanks Savannah!
Pup 3 in the middle about 3 days old – 1.9 grams – being fed every 2 hours
Found in Kingsland with her injured mum at the base of a tree. This pup brought to us by Ally when the mum died. Thanks for trying to help the mum Ally and likewise for bringing us this pup.
Pup 1 (Fury) on the right about 51 days old – 8.0 grams – being hand fed once a day in the flight cage bat box
Born to a rehabilitating bat who came to us from Adamsville, already pregnant, unbeknownst to us. We were treating the mum for a fungal infection when she gave birth 05 Apr 2016.
The two pups on the left are wonderful, playful little guys that love to romp around and purr like crazy when their bellies are full. Fury (on the right) was not happy about being associated with these infants, he’s a big bat now and he and his mum are almost ready for release.
Feeding just these pups every 3 hours and every 2 hours makes for a busy schedule.
The love radiating from the crowd on Earth Day really moved us.
Thanks so much for caring about bats!
https://www.whitenosesyndrome.org/sites/default/files/resource/final-cave_access_advisory_2016_2.pdf