Bat World Sanctuary is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization and is funded entirely by donations. We do not receive any funding or assistance from the government, and rely entirely on donations and grants from the public. 

Our EIN number is 75-2503642.

There are many ways to help bats! Educating others, donating to bat rescuers, hanging bat houses and volunteering are all great ways to help our flying friends. You can learn more about the different ways to help here.

Our bats are rescued from a variety of situations. Fruit bats often are surrendered by zoos, laboratory research, or rescued from the exotic pet trade. Insect eating bats are most often found grounded by members of the public, or local animal control agencies, and transferred to us. 

Native species are rehabilitated and released whenever possible. For those that have suffered permanent injuries, they are given lifetime sanctuary. Fruit bats are not native to the United States, and therefore cannot be released. Once a non-releasable bat enters our care, they remain with us for the rest of their life. 

No. Male bats are neutered at Bat World Sanctuary in order to control the population and ensure we always have space for new rescues. At this time, there are no threatened or endangered species that call the sanctuary home, and as captive fruit bats cannot be returned to their native habitat, breeding does not serve our conservation mission. Rescued fruit bats often arrive at our facility pregnant, and we raise countless orphaned insectivorous bats every year. 

The answer is yes and no. We are never involved in invasive research and are adamantly opposed to these studies. However, we have been involved in research that directly benefits bats, such as a mating behavior study we conducted in the late 1990’s, which helps to protect natural habitat where bats gather to mate. We have also been involved in vaccinations studies (proving that bats could be vaccinated against rabies by drawing a very small sample of blood) as well as a pesticide study that involved obtaining small clippings of fur from wild rescued bats to determine if they had been exposed to pesticides.

Bats bring us over 450 different commercial products and 80 medicines through seed dispersal and pollination. Insect eating bats are literal vacuum cleaners of the night sky, saving us billions of dollars annually on pesticide use. Additionally, bats are key players in the rain-forest (the lungs of our planet). Up to 98 % of all rain-forest regrowth comes from seeds that have been spread by fruit bats.

Nope! “Blind as a bat” is just a saying, and a completely false one at that. While sight varies between species, no species of bat is blind, and most see as well, if not better, than we do! Many species are equipped with echolocation (sonar) but this is to help them hunt at night, and does not replace their vision. 

Hanging upside down is an energy efficient way for a bat to go directly into flight. All they have to do is let go! Bats have specialized tendons in their feet that lock into place when they are at rest. This allows them to use little to no energy when hanging.

In the same way our blood does not rush to our feet due to gravity, bat’s blood does not rush to their heads. Their circulatory system efficiently pumps blood throughout their bodies, even against the force of gravity. 

Bats, just like us, rely on esophageal muscles to swallow food which work despite gravity. 

About 70% of all bats in the entire world eat only insects. Another 30% eat fruit, pollen, and nectar. Less than 1% of all bats eat fish and small animals such as mice, and only 3 out of 1,450 species worldwide drink blood. Vampire bats only feed on the blood of animals (not people,) and they are very small, shy and typically afraid of humans.

Bats do not attack people. If a bat is swooping close to you, chances are he is only trying to catch the yummy mosquitoes who are making a meal out of you!

Equipped with excellent sonar and navigation skills, these aerial acroBATS can evade even the biggest of hair styles! Bats will often fly close to people while hunting, as insects are attracted to us. Stories of bats getting caught in people’s hair is more myth than fact, but if it were to happen- it certainly wasn’t done on purpose. Much like people trip and fall, bats occasionally make mistakes too!

Not at all! Bats are extremely clean creatures, spending up to ⅓ of their day grooming. 

Fruit bats are not native to the continental United States. A few different species of fruit bats have been found in the Florida keys, though they are not considered native to the area.  Some fruit bat species are native to U.S. territories such as American Samoa and Puerto Rico. In the U.S, the majority of our bats eat insects, with a handful of species consuming nectar.