Hello, blog followers! This is Leslie, the President of The Save Lucy Campaign. I don't normally write blog posts, but I wanted to celebrate spring, since we made it through a Tuesday without snow and the peepers were singing in the sunshine yesterday. I'll take that as a sign that spring really is here.

In preparation for spring, we moved many of our overwintered bats into the flight cage. They need to re-acclimate to chilly nights, finding safe roosts, finding food, and flying! It's probably more exciting for us than for them. They're giving up snug flannel roost pouches, mealworms delivered in a dish, steady temperatures, and safety. This is also when health issues or old injuries may become apparent; these are things we wouldn't have seen while the bats were torpid and in smaller indoor crates. Some may not regain flight ability or may start to fail as it becomes apparent they aren't up to foraging on their own.

We'll evaluate the bats that can't be released for addition to the education collection, but not all nonreleasable animals are happy in permanent captivity. For them, we have no choice but to end their suffering. It's a very hard decision, but in the end it's the kindest choice.

But soon, most will be regaining their freedom, and we will watch them rocket into the dusky sky and return to the night, where they belong.