Dear Bat World Supporter,
Baby season is in full swing! We’ve had a very busy month, with dozens of rescue calls coming in a day from all across the country. Along with the calls, our first bat pups have begun to arrive at the facility, each and every one requiring overnight feedings, frequent grooming, and lots of attention. Keep reading to see a little bit about what we’ve been up to.
BIG PIMPIN’
Hey, we don’t care how they get to us, as long as they get here safely! This sweet little newborn evening bat was found in the parking lot of a Fire Station by Firefighter Colby. He grabbed the first thing available, his eyeglass case, and then transported the tiny baby to us. Colby named this little dude “Big Pimpin’.
It’s orphan season. By the time the summer is over we will have rescued and hand-raised dozens of sweet little souls like this one. They will be fed round the clock, and, when the time comes, will be able to hone their wings in our flight enclosure before being released back to the wild to eat millions of pesky insects. We feel sure Big Pimpin will be leading the way.
Any donation, no matter how small, helps us save lives. Thank you for anything you can give!
FUNDRAISING RESULTS!
In May, we were so grateful to be included in a fundraiser via the Communities Foundation of Texas in which $150,000 in matching funds were available to animal-based non-profits. Our wonderful supporters raised just over $5,000 toward the Bat World Learning Center, and we also received $4500 in matching funds!
As mentioned last month, a wonderful donor stepped up and offered a $75,000 matching grant to help us reach our goal! In addition, a Facebook fundraiser titled “For the Love of Sunshine” has also been created in honor of our Founder, Amanda Lollar, and the learning center. With the funds we’ve already raised, we are a little over 16% of the way to reaching our goal. The concrete foundation has been poured for the learning center, and now we are awaiting additional funding to continue building. We are so excited to have this opportunity to further our bat outreach and to train even more bat rescuers from across the globe, as well as provide educational programs to classrooms and the public! If you’d like to donate to this project or read testimonials from bat rehabilitators who have previously trained with us, please click the button below.
SUMMER INTERNS
Our very first intern has arrived! This year, we are hosting 10 different interns from around the world, including Colorado, California, Virginia, Illinois, Texas, Oregon, the United Kingdom, Canada and Mexico. During their stay, interns will learn the ins-and-outs of insectivorous bat rehabilitation, including species identification, proper housing, feeding, medical care, and orphaned pup care. They will also join our staff on rescue calls and assist in our fruit bat enclosure. We are very excited to have the opportunity to train more animal care professionals on the proper treatment of bats. You can learn more about our internship program here.
WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT!
Texas peeps – please help!
Every summer, thousands of bats (mostly babies) are killed when they roost in buildings. Currently, in Texas, it is legal to kill a colony of bats roosting in the attic or crawlspace of a building. However, there is a humane way to evict bats outside of maternity season. We want change the law in Texas to offer more protection for Texas bats. The Bill, as well as articles and citations for this video, can be found here. We simply need the names of farms and ranches that agree this bill should be passed. So far, Allstar Peanuts and Bush-Emeny Properties have added their names. If you know someone who might add their farm or ranch name as well, simply send an email to us at [email protected]. Thank you for sharing this critical Bill with any farmers and ranchers you know in Texas!