There ARE fates worse than death
My heart cracks a little more every time I see or hear the advice “Don’t take it to the rehabber! They’ll just kill it!” Or Don’t call animal control; they’ll just kill it; or don’t call the game warden, etc,…
Leslie Sturges
Not a pest; needs no ‘control’
Summer should be a time of joy for nature lovers. Young wild animals are venturing out and learning important lessons so they can carry on their species. For us, the skies should be full of young bats on their early forays, following their mothers as they observe her hunting.
A Plea from President Leslie
As we alerted you a couple days ago, there is a bill in front of the Virginia House of delegates, SB 1390, that authorizes anyone to release feral cats onto the landscape. We understand the reasoning behind the bill as…
A Plea
One of the recurring themes of #BatWeek is to be a #BatHero. I want to take a minute to talk to you all about that. 2020 has been an awful year in so many respects, but for us, while we,…
A horrible rotten no good day
Dear everyone As covid 19 ravages our country and threatens our families, friends, and neighbors, there is ever more collateral damage. You may or may not be aware, but state and national guidance is severely restricting interaction with native North…
Little bats, little bats, how do you grow?
We know you all are missing Blogger Rachael very much, but in her absence we thought you could make do with a post about the orphans and what they’ve been up to! We currently have 17 orphans at headquarters, with…
Sanctuary!
Hi everyone! I hope you all had a good week! Some of you may have seen the incredible news on the Save Lucy Facebook and Instagram pages, but something very exciting has happened! Save Lucy has a Little Brown Bat!…
Fruity floof
Hi everyone! I hope you all had a good week! Since the Japanese cherry blossoms are blooming in Washington, DC, I thought that I would write about a bat from Japan. I found an adorable fruit bat called the Mariana fruit bat. The Mariana fruit bat has dark brown to black fur covering most of its body with grey hairs throughout and a beautiful gold or pail brown neck floof. Mariana fruit bats live in tropical and subtropical climates of Japan, Guam and in the Marina islands. They like to roost in limestone forests, coconut groves, and vegetation. During the day they mostly sleep but they also groom, fly around, and climb around. They usually leave their roost to get dinner around sunset. Since these bats are fruit bats, they like to munch on fruit and occasionally flowers and leaves. Sadly, these bats are endangered. This is due to habitat loss caused by timber removal, natural disasters, and habitat destruction caused by non-native animals. They have also been hunted and killed as a crop pest. If you’d like to read more about these bats, you can read about them here.
Love the new place!
Hi everyone! Happy spring! I hope you all had a good week! I have some amazing news! There is a horticulturist in Florida who has created a bat house to help one of the world’s most endangered mammals. The house has been designed to help the Florida bonneted bat. This bat has sadly lost most of its habitat and only a few hundred are left. The new house is able to hold more bats that the ones most people have in their homes. Even though this house seems perfect for the Florida bonneted bat, there is a chance that it won’t attract bats to live there. While it’s sad to see an empty home, it will still help the bats. When they see a giant bat house, people passing by are drawn to it and become interested in what they can to do to help bats. The house was inspired by three houses used by a half-million bats at the University of Florida. It has two stories and a big roof for the bats to hide and rest in. Some bats such as the common Evening bat and the Brazilian Free-tailed bat like to roost in tightly packed spaces, so they might enjoy the lower level of the house that is a bit smaller than the top. The Bonneted bats are more solitary animals who will hopefully like the larger upper level of the house. If you would like to read more about this new house, you can read about it here.
A beautiful land, with beautiful people and beautiful bats
Hi everyone! I hope you all had a good week. I would like to dedicate this week’s blog to the people of New Zealand. My thoughts are with you all. I researched some bats from New Zealand and found a cute one called the Long-Tailed bat. They have beautiful long chestnut brown hair. Long-Tailed bats have small ears and very small bodies. They are about the size of a mouse and can fit in the palm of your hand. These bats eat insects like small moths, midges, mosquitoes, and beetles. They live in forests in old trees, under peeling bark, in large hollow stumps, and other holes that they can find. Sadly, these bats are categorized as Nationally Vulnerable. This is mainly because of people cutting down old trees that these bats live in. Predators such as cats, possums, and rats are also a threat. If you would like to read more about you can find information here. And please follow The Big Bat Year, a wonderful journey being undertaken by Nils Bouillard, who is trying to photodocument as many bat species as possible in 29 separate countries over the course of a single year. He has already visited New Zealand and has written about the experience and the bats he saw. He too is a wonderful blogger, so check it out! Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Don’t forget to wear green!