the past couple days one of my friends from back home (she's actually my oldest friend - we've been friends since the 2nd grade!) has been visiting. now aside from being a charming person in her own right she also volunteers for nebraska wildlife rehab (website or facebook profile) so she always has some furry little friends tucked away in her basement, or on her porch or in her spare room.... (click here if you want to see the picture from when we visited her last spring and she was rehabbing a baby fox!)
this time when she came to visit us she had some big brown bats that had just been rescued and were underweight for going back into hibernation. they needed to be fed everyday until their weight got back up and they could safely hibernate until the spring release. so eight big brown bats came with her to mankato!
needless to say we were beyond excited!
bats in the wild eat while in flight, so ones that are rehabbing need to be taught to eat while stationary. the process involves tweezers, mealworms, and a lot of patience.
some of the bats were more open to this new experience than others...
but some take to it very quickly and by the second day lily was able to feed one of the quick learners (under very close supervision - don't worry, it was always safety (of both lily and the bats) first!).
it was such a treat to get to play assistant bat rehabbers for a couple days!
-melissa
coolest blog post EVER!
i'm totally riveted by these bats- what incredible visitors! it's so wonderful to see them so close- i never knew they were so soft and furry. and those teeth! wowza! i've been so excited for this post and it exceeded every expectation! hooary for bats!
p.s. i never get tired of that baby fox picture. too precious for words!
Posted by: cmv | February 26, 2010 at 10:25 AM
Oh man, that is too cool!!!! So jealous.
Posted by: kate | February 26, 2010 at 11:41 AM
That is so awesome!! What a cool experience. And Lily is so good with the bats, how wonderful. I love bats. They are such creepy/beautiful animals. Not to mention awesome bug catchers.
Were you tempted to stretch out their wings? did they try any fly around the living room?
Posted by: Lindsey | February 26, 2010 at 12:02 PM
Oh my word! What an amazing thing to get the chance to do. Lily looks like she's doing a great job. Fab photos. Have a great weekend. Ros
Posted by: SNOOPYDOG | February 26, 2010 at 03:07 PM
Back in high school I dated a guy whose mom rehabbed bats in her basement. I was so freaked out then. Now I can watch the Egyptian Fruit Bats at the zoo ALL DAY! You got some great photos. The bat in the last photo looks like he has a pompadour.
Posted by: melinda | February 26, 2010 at 10:50 PM
Hmmmmmmmm! Not keen on bats! I once attended a concert in an old church, and spent most of the time worried about being dive-bombed by bats! Some great photos, and Lily looks as tho' she took it all in her stride!
Posted by: josiekitten | February 28, 2010 at 09:45 AM
Wow! What a cool thing for Lily (and you) to experience.
I think that photo of the bat with the teeth showing is going to give me nightmares tonight, though :)
Posted by: Rebekah | March 02, 2010 at 02:28 PM
Very cool post and pictures...and very cool experience! I love that you let Lily interact with them. Bats are such misunderstood creatures in our world. Lily gets to learn to respect and be careful around them, but also that they are a fascinating creature!
Posted by: Rachel | March 11, 2010 at 12:57 PM