Batwoman to the Rescue

Yesterday, a young male Pipistrelle bat was discovered in our office kitchen sink, after a bath of water and cold herbal tea, giving staff quite a shock.  We think he got separated from his Mum and wandered in through the kitchen window, which was left ajar.  When he was fished out he didn’t look much better than a black wet tea bag.  Our Project Officer, Abby, sprang into action to help him recover from his impromptu bath and got him dried off and warmed up.  After consulting with staff at the Northern Ireland Bat Group Abby fed him a selection of natural yogurt and kitten food, as well as providing him with regular drinks of water.  As he had been so cold he took a few hours to perk up and begin eating properly.

The contact at the N. Ireland Bat Group had advised us to release him at dusk if the weather dried up, which it did.  The bat must have enjoyed his time with Abby as he decided not to join the other bats flying around last night, though he could still be a bit too young to be on his own.  Abby brought him back into the office today so that she could continue to feed and care for him.  Check out the video below to see us trying to feed him his breakfast; he was a lot more lively this morning.  We will try to release him again this evening, however if he doesn’t fly off we’ll be passing him over to the staff of the local Bat Group tomorrow, who specialise in caring for and rehabilitating grounded bats.

For more information on how to care for grounded bats check out the links below or visit the Northern Ireland Bat Group website.