Bat Facts I learned from an Orphaned Batlet
Published on Nov 18, 2015
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ORPHANED BATLET
bat facts i learned from an
In 2006, a baby bat tumbled down the chimney in the old New Jersey house I was staying in for the summer.
Photo by fciron
This is how he looked.
Seems kind of gross looking, maybe? Well, imagine what our babies would look like if they'd fallen into a pile of dirt and cat hair.
Every other baby bat that fell down the chimney could be placed outside at dusk, and their mothers would come take them.
We'd put them in a little pie dish and if they weren't scooped up before our very eyes, they'd be gone after an hour or two.
But not this time.
In the morning, there he was: dehydrated and lonely in the sun.
I gave his mom two nights.
She never came.
So I spent my summer vacation
raising a baby bat.
I looked for organizations that could help me, but there weren't any nearby, and I was concerned a pest company would want to disrupt the colony he came from... or worse.
Photo by Tatters ❀
Here are some things I learned as he grew up that surprised me, and other people I knew.
Bats are mammals.
warm and snuggly, like tiny, winged puppies.
Lots of people think bats are rodents! I don't have a problem with rodents, but I'll tell you something: they aren't nearly as intelligent as bats.
They can love and trust people
just as much as your dog or cat, if not more.
This little guy was quite a snuggler. He loved taking naps with me, or just hanging out on me, and was quite sad if he had to go back in his little habitat.
Some bats are neat freaks:
This one kept himself very tidy once he was old enough.
Before he was old enough, I'd give him baths with a Q-Tip. He was not a fan, and would make little barking sounds and bite at the Q-Tips.
Nom nom nom.
Need some ranch for those wings?
Little brown bats are one of the most common bats in North America, and they really are quite little.
That was my index finger.
Bats yawn.
"Duh," you say, but I bet you didn't think it'd be so cute.
Doesn't he look like he's yodeling?
Bats are very smart!
And chock full of personality.
If you ever come over to my place, ask to see some of the videos. I'll show them to you like some kind of crazy bat lady.
They're even cute
when their teeth start coming in.
Batlet never bit me, but I also raised him from before he even had peach fuzz. If you ever handle a bat you find in your home, make sure to wear thick gloves!
Lookit those little teef!
(He was laughing at a joke I'd told him.)
What was the little bat's favorite subject in school? The alpha-BAT!
Some bats are clumsy!
(Well, this one was, anyway.)
He wasn't a huge fan of hanging on sticks, surprisingly.
like very quiet Morse Code.
You can hear bats echolocate,
His mouth would hang slightly open and it was like he was making gentle throat-clearing sounds.
Bats eat TONS of mosquitos.
Which do you like more: bats or bites?
I have pretty bad reactions to mosquito bites, and he was like my BATTY guard. EH? Get it?
Bats are great listeners.
He'd recognize my voice distinctly.
The best was before he could fly very well: I could come into a room where someone else was holding him, and start talking, and he'd try to fly over to me (and I'd have to catch him).
People told me to crush him.
some folks hate bats.
Sometimes, telling people I was raising an orphaned bat was like telling people I was raising a bowl full of fire ants.
One lady said if she'd found him,
she'd have flushed him down the toilet.
Kinda looks like he's frowning here, doesn't it? I know I am.
Would you?
I think most people just don't understand bats.
When people don't understand something, it often makes them uncomfortable... especially if movies and TV have painted an unfair portrait of the thing they don't understand.
pretty important.
I obviously think bats are
This little guy changed my life.
If you agree, share this deck!
Teach someone something new!
If you want to make an even bigger difference, donate to Bat Conservation International at http://www.batcon.org/
