BABY SEASON ALWAYS STARTS WITH THE REDS
Yesterday we received nonstop calls about baby red bats being found grounded. We ended up with 6 orphans so far, but before the summer is over there will be several dozen. It will take 8 to 10 weeks to raise them to adulthood. Until then they will need to be hand-fed several times daily, then taught to eat meal worms, and after that they will be given ample time to hone their flight skills before release. Last summer we saved dozens of grounded red bat mothers and their babies across the US by helping the public get these tiny families back to safety in trees. As well as the pups we rescued, we also helped countless orphaned bat babies find their way to rescuers across North America. This summer is only beginning – we hope to save hundreds more in the coming months.
BIG BAT HOUSE UPDATE
The big bat house is officially up and waiting ready for deserving bats so they will have the refuge they so richly deserve. As the neighboring town of Mineral Wells continues their renovations, thousands of bats will be displaced so we needed to provide additional accommodations for them immediately. We are checking every day to see if there is any guano on the ground beneath the house, which will indicate bats have moved in.
BAT WORLD BULGARIA
In our efforts to expand our worldwide rescue efforts, we have teamed up with Day and Night Bat Rehabilitation to create Bat World Bulgaria with Vyara Krushkova. Please check out the Bat World Bulgaria Facebook page and the wonderful photos and information shared on a daily basis.
BABY RONAN UPDATE
Many of you are aware of Baby Ronan, the offspring of one of the very elderly African fruit bat males that we rescued from OBC last year. The boys are too old to safely anesthetize to neuter, so we assumed that they were too old to be frisky as well. Apparently one of them proved us wrong. Ronan was abandoned by his mother so we hand-raised him. Baby Ronan is eating fruit now and will soon join his family in the large flight enclosure.
NEW ZOO RESCUES
Earlier this month we welcomed six elderly bats who were retired from the Ellen Trout Zoo in Lufkin, Texas. One of these bats is a 24 year-old Indian flying fox who we named “Starley”. The other five are Jamaican fruit bats between 20 and 25 years old, They have joined the other elderly bats in the “geribatric ward” where the older bats, who are prone to falling, have all the creature comforts close at hand. Statler, our 32 year-old Indian flying fox, is totally smitten with Starley as you can see in this video.
SUMMER TIPS TO KEEP BATS SAFE
Summer is here and we all want to keep our bat buddies as safe as possible. Please see this link for helpful tips to help the bats in your yard. As always, if you find a grounded bat please contact us right away by calling 940-325-3404. We have rescuers around the world and will do our best to help.
MATCHING GRANT
We have had an offer of a $1,000 matching grant from generous Bat World Sanctuary Lynn Hochstetter to help with our Annual Orphan Appeal this summer. Any amount you can send to help us with this $1,000 goal will be greatly appreciated. We can only save lives with your support – thank you for anything you can give.
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.