SULLY (AND HIS MONKEY)
Sully was rescued from the exotic pet trade last February after we received a frantic call from a concerned woman in Ohio. She stated that Sully and his partner, another male Egyptian fruit bat, had been purchased as pets by her boyfriend, against her wishes. Despite her pleadings, Sully and his partner were brought into a house where their pet cat resided. Sully’s partner was ultimately mauled and killed by the cat, leaving Sully all alone. Shortly thereafter, the boyfriend left, leaving Sully behind. After we were contacted we immediately reached out to Bat World rescuer Laurie Dehn, who lives a few hours away. Laurie made arrangements to rescue Sully right away, but not before the pet cat attacked again. Thankfully, Sully received only minor injuries to his wing membrane which quickly healed under Laurie’s excellent care. Once with Laurie, Sully received treatment fit for a king. Her daughters (who named Sully) even made fabulous fruit kabobs for him, with shapes cut into moons and stars.
Along with nutritious foods and much-needed enrichment, Sully received a plush monkey that he loved to snuggle with when sleeping. Sully was flown t Texas on Easter Sunday, accompanied by his plush monkey to ease his stress. His monkey was then added to Sully’s holding enclosure at Bat World Sanctuary. Sully was neutered yesterday by our wonderful veterinarian, Tad Jarrett, DVM and is doing well. Most of all, he seems thrilled to finally be with others of his kind.
Welcome home Sully! We will do everything in our power to give you the best life possible.
RENOVATION RESCUES
Much-needed renovations are taking place in a nearby town where bat colonies exist in several decades-old buildings. We are working with the building owner who is doing humane exclusions on the bats roosting in the buildings. Excluding the bats is unfortunate but it must happen in order for the bats to stay safe. They need to live in unpopulated areas away from people, feral cats and other animals that cause a great number of fatalities to bats each year.
Some bats are a little afraid to exit the buildings during exclusions so we are going inside to rescue them. A total of 27 were rescued two weeks ago. They were released into our bat castle, which we built several years ago knowing that the renovations would eventually take place and the displaced bats would need a place to go. The bat castle is on land owned by Bat World Sanctuary and bats that choose to live in the bat castle will always be protected.
BIG BAT HOUSE
Speaking of the renovation rescues above, many of you already know about our conservation efforts for the bats being evicted in nearby towns with the building of our bat castle. We went a step farther in helping these homeless bats find the bat castle by purchasing a “Big Bat House” and having it mounted adjacent to the caste. Together, the bat castle with the big bat house will hold well over 100,000 bats. The cost of the big bat house, equipment and labor will run around $10,000, and we are so excited to announce that were able to raise those funds within 2 weeks through a matching grant as well as from contributions from our fabulous, extremely supportive Facebook donors! The Big Bat House will be here next week and will be up and ready for occupants soon after. Stay tuned – more to come.
A NEW GERIBATRIC WARD
Our newly built Geribatric Ward was recently given a 5-star rating! 😉
A review left by old bat Thelma states: “The amenities are amazing – the area is designed to provide an optimal level of warmth and comfort for our balding bodies, with soft touches like fleece lined beds, fresh fruit is served nonstop, nightly entertainment is ever-present, and room service checks in several times daily to offer warm, complimentary sponge baths.”
SUNSHINE RESCUE CLUB
In addition to the 370+ permanent residents cared for daily at Bat World Sanctuary, we rescue hundreds of bats annually and return them back to the wild. We also support organizations both nationally and internationally that rescue bats. We track our efforts on our Rescue Log which highlights the work we’re doing across the globe. When you join the Sunshine Rescue Club you help us continue our work on behalf of bats the world over. Click here to learn more about the Sunshine Rescue Club.
To make a one-time donation to help us with our rescue efforts please click here.