Bats are the only true flying mammals. There are over 1,400 species of bats, and they can be found on nearly every part of the planet. Not only are they cute, they are also important...
Studying how bats use echolocation has helped scientists develop navigational aids for the blind. Without bats’ pollination, seed dispersal, and pest control we wouldn’t have bananas, avocados, mangoes, agave, or cacao… that’s right, bats bring us tequila and chocolate!
Do not handle it with bare hands! Bats can carry rabies.
Here's a map of worldwide rescues and temporary care instructions.
Bats should never be kept as pets: Here's why.
Our community's mascot is Baxter. Baxter is an Egyptian fruit bat that was cruelly kept alone and confined to a small cage for 12 years before being rescued by a bat sanctuary. You can read the full story by clicking on his name.
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Everyone should feel welcome here. Hateful or bigoted language will not be tolerated.
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I was getting stealthy and sneaking up on a family of cormorants and this pitiful cricket noise started. I looked down and this guy was not happy I woke him up. Any idea who he is?
Location: Midwest USA.
Here is the photo of the cormorants BTW.
Location might help narrow it down. Maybe Eastern Long Eared Bat?
Cute little winged beasty...
Ha, whoops. Not sure how I forgot to list my location. I'm in the Midwest USA. Yeah that could be the species, thanks
Talented little guy. What kind of camera did he use?
This was taken on an Olympus E-M1 mk 1 at 170 mm f/6.3 1/800 sec ISO 200.
I was making a dumb joke, but it is a great photo.
Ha thanks, the joke clearly flew over my head.
this site lets you sort species by country and state
are you able to go back and see if that bat is still there? many species of midwestern bats cannot take off from the ground and would need rescuing
if that’s the case, search your state plus wildlife rehab, and call one of those places to ask what to do
Update: the bat seems to be fine although he's hanging out in the same general area I found him yesterday. He has climbed up a tree branch and was hanging underneath it. I called a local animal control specialist and they said he should be alright where he is 🤷♂️. I suppose I'll leave him for now and check back tomorrow? He seems fine on water and relatively comfortable. I sure hope he's alright...
Here's some pictures of the situation.
There is this downed tree he can climb if he needs some height to take off. The bat is located by the red arrow.
thank you for going back and checking on them! and calling a specialist for advice.
sometimes they get chased to the ground but are fine, other times they get hurt and can no longer fly which is why they’re on the ground. this one seems to be making their way up to a proper takeoff height again which is a good sign
No problem, we've had a problem with our bats getting white-nose syndrome, but they've been on the rebound. I'm just glad our friend seems fine.
Oh no! I had no idea. I'll have to go back and check. I will update in a bit.