The last 10 days have been grueling. We spent every single day rescuing pregnant bats that continually became trapped in a specialty store located in an old building in downtown Mineral Wells, Texas. Last Thursday we finally convinced the building owner that a humane exclusion had to take place immediately -before babies were born- so mothers and babies alike would not become trapped. Thankfully 911 Wildlife came to the rescue and all the bats are now safe. All total we rescued 181 bats, most of them pregnant. All but two were released into our Bat Castle where they can come and go at will. The remaining two bats are healing from injuries sustained in the wall, but they will be able to go free soon. The video below shows part of one day’s rescue, that took place in the stifling hot bathroom of the specialty store.
During these past few weeks the Michigan 90 have been doing well. We are still raising the last pup (Bella, pictured below) who was born after arriving at Bat World. Her travel-stressed mother abandoned little Bella soon after giving birth so we are hand-raising her. Just yesterday Bella progressed to eating semi-solid food (banana in warm goats milk) and her table manners went right out the window!
Over a dozen of the Michigan 90 bats are elderly and will need special care, so we recently created a “GeriBatric Ward” to give comfort to these little elders during the final years of their lives. The enclosure is large enough to allow the occupants to have privacy when they need it as well as having multiple places to snuggle, roost and feed at their leisure. The floor is padded to prevent injuries in the event of a fall. The enclosure hangs inside the fruit bat’s area so they can also receive colony visitors at night.
On top of the rescues and additional care needed for the Michigan 90, orphan season just arrived and phone calls and babies are rolling in (check our rescue log here). Throughout all this, we are still trying to raise the funds needed to match the wonderful $15,000 grant offer that came in last month to support the Michigan 90. We only have until August to raise the funds and with the additional rescue work taking most of our time we are growing a bit worried. So far we have aquired just over $2,000 towards the matching grant. Anything you can do to help us secure this incredible offer will be appreciated more than you may realize. Please click here to donate. Alternately, you can donate through the Sunshine Rescue Club or even through this link (paypal is accepted).
Please remember, with baby season upon us, you may come across a grounded bat. Please click here for immediate help or email us at [email protected]