He’s a tri-colored juvenile who was learning to fly when he somehow ended up inside the atrium at 600 Congress Avenue in Austin. So the Congress bats aren’t the only bats living in the heart of downtown! We have gotten tri-coloreds n from this area previously, so we suspect they are well at home in the high-rised parking garages and breezeways that shelter them from predators.
Box employees have a workout room that is open to the atrium, and this juvie spent the day on their jungle gym before Jo and Ian contained him and brought him to us for safer fledging. Nice work you two!
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!
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
We were contacted a few weeks ago by a German ecological consultant on sabbatical, who has been traveling the world for the last year or so. Starting six months ago she was in Patagonia, then in the Brazilian Pantanal, far upstream in the Amazon, and in Montreal, before volunteering with us for three weeks. An intrepid traveler, she has been camping in the jungles and couch-surfing the cities of the world before arriving at facility with an open mind and an open heart, sharing wonderful stories from her travels.
What a joy it was to get to know her! She is a true citizen of the world, and she filled us with hope for the future! As a global ambassador, her ability to share the wonder of the natural world did her country proud! Fluent in Portuguese, Spanish, French, and who knows how many other languages, her light shines brightly and we are so happy she came to stay with us for this short while!
Lisa Soehn, you are a spectacular human being! May that twinkle in your eye continue to spread to all you meet!
Love always from Texas!
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
Fawn is a beautiful northern yellow yearling who is ready for release. She came to us late last summer, and we over-wintered her because she simply did not seem ready for release until late fall, when food started to get scarce. Now’s the time to get her weight up and shoot some video to help us remember her. She has been so patient with us, trusting us to do the right thing for her and now is the time to reward that trust.
Studies have shown that the joy engendered by an event is not diminished by accompanying sadness, but that joy is actually increased by such sadness. The resulting poignancy is an extremely powerful emotion and this is what accompanies each and every release of an orphaned bat pup. We worry about them in so many ways; will they find a roost, food, a mate? Will they evade predators long enough to reproduce? Will they realize that not all humans will treat them with kindness? Will they be successful without the benefit of their mothers to show them the way?
But we’re so happy for them to have that second chance! The worst outcome for us is the always present possibility that they will die in our care, without experiencing the wild life they were born to live. We want to make sure the cold weather is behind us and that insects are abundant once again, and then it will be time. We can’t plan such an event, the timing is always a spur of the moment instinctual feeling that she’s ready, the weather is cooperating, the stars are aligned, and the bat gods are smiling upon her.
All the best dear one! You have given us so much joy! Make lots of yellow bat babies! Live a long, happy life!
This Mexican free-tailed girl was found, a few weeks back, at Penn Field by Sara Fern of iHeart Media
She was super dehydrated from being stuck in a building for many days and was super lucky Sara found her.
After two weeks of good food and smart water, she flew beautifully last night, and is ready for release!
She says “I Live Here, I Give Here”
Thanks for giving her a second chance Sara!
