Bat Crazy!

Yesterday evening, I was giving a lesson to one of myadult students. A small object fell from the rafters of the indoor (it was starting to rain outside, so we had gone in). At first, I thought it was a baby bird, but as I walked closer I realized that it is too late in the season for chicks to be falling out of the rafters. The tiny little body that greeted me was one of a baby bat, later identifed as a male little brown.

My adult student was, as many people are, totally freaked out by the little guy. Once, an adult bat nesting in one of the barn doors that is open all summer fell out when I closed it during a big thunderstorm. Once the storm passed, I was able to take him outside on a large dustpan and put him in a tree, where he could wait for a good breeze and fly home. Bats cannot fly on their own, they rely on a good gust of wind to take off.

It was raining, and the little bat had taken quite a fall (over forty feet) To make matters worse, the barn cat was aware of the bat as well, and had already decided that the bat would make a good dinner. I went up in the loft to see if I could put him in the rafters near his family, but he wouldn't stay in the rafters. He fell out and landed on me, clinging his little hind legs to my shirt. I put him in a small box I rustled out of my car and put him in my tack locker, where the cat couldn't get him.

Once my lesson was over, I again turned my attention to my newly acquired friend. One should not keep a bat, they should live outside, and I knew he probably needed medical help from his long fall. I took him home, looked up bat sanctuaries on the internet, and called a local rescue operation for wild animals.

So, at 11 pm last night, the little brown bat was safely delivered to a sanctuary and into knowledgeable hands. The actual sanctuary was closed, so I delivered the bat to a rescuer's home. Her house was decorated with Halloween decorations of bats, identifying that I was in the right place. She looked him over, told me his gender (male), age (about a month old), and type (little brown). As her husband readied baby bat food, a type of formula, the woman informed me should do everything in her power to save the little guy.

I called this morning, and he made it through the night, but he ate very little. I do hope the little guy makes it! Bats area valuable part of insect control, eating up to 400 bugs a night (which is awesome at a horse farm), and no creature should go without proper care. The woman seemed surprised that I would drive an hour to drop the little guy off, and said that most people just kill them. Poor bats.


By the way, I did not take any pictures of the little guy. I briefly considered snapping a few photos, but figured the bat was in shock as it was and I wanted him to get medical attention immediately. Thankfully, the internets are full of bat pictures.