Mastodawn

Happy #Baturday from this eepy floof-bean! This is one of the two orphaned infant seminole bats currently in my care.

I haven’t been posting much, because orphaned bat season is pretty all-consuming. In my corner of the globe, it last from May through the end of summer. This is broken up into several waves, broadly by genus/family.

Thank you for the gentle nudges I’ve gotten that there is still a world outside of my wee belfry. 😅

May you all be as comfy as my tiny #BatsInBlankets.

[Disclaimer because someone is gonna @ me: Don’t try this at home. I’m licensed, have specialised training, and am thoroughly vaccinated. Also, bats would make terrible pets. Etc.]

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Lisa 🦔 [Copy Moon Joy]Jun 6

Another disclaimer:
Skipping gloves when handling our most tiny and delicate patients is a calculated risk. We’re vaccinated of course, and we vaccinate the patients as they come in, and we do a LOT of hand washing between tasks and patients.

Bats are extremely social creatures and require direct contact with their caregiver to support their wellbeing and development. Even species that tend to be solitary in adulthood, like the seminole bat in the OP, have very strong social bonds with their mother and siblings.

They do not imprint and will gladly return to the wild when they are stronger and old enough. 🦇🖤

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Mr.Mark "The Sharpie King"

@mycrowgirl
This is super fascinating and inspiring!

I’ve been hoping to connect with the bat expert.

It seems like the bat population at our place in France took a big hit last winter. There are far fewer at sunset, and we have more mosquitoes this year.

So I’m wondering if you can point me at any resources or information that would help me restore their habitat, help them through the winter, or otherwise attract them and help them to thrive on our farm?

Thanks!

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Lisa 🦔 [Copy Moon Joy]Jun 7

@markmetz Oooh, do you know what species you typically have in your region? I’ve never seen Rhinolophidés but I know there are several kinds in France! They’re so CUTE.

I can give you a lot of general tips, but most of my firsthand experiences are with North American bats. You will probably want to reach out to a local bat group in your region to address more specific habitat needs.

If you had a very sudden population drop, any number of factors from short-term unusual weather, habitat loss, insecticides affecting food sources, drought affecting their water sources, etc. Your regional bat organisation will have the best tips specific to your situation. That said, installing bat houses is a fantastic way of helping them. This page looks like it has good information that may help 🥹 https://plan-actions-chiropteres.fr/agir-pour-les-chauves-souris/refuge-pour-les-chauves-souris/

And their directory to find your regional group:
https://plan-actions-chiropteres.fr/annuaire/

Refuge pour les chauves-souris - Plan National d'Actions en faveur des Chiroptères

Installer un gîte à chauves-souris Vous souhaitez favoriser la présence de chauves-souris mais votre habitation ne dispose pas des conditions d’accueil nécessaires ? Ne vous inquiétez pas ! Vous pouvez tout à fait leur donner un coup de pouce en installant des gîtes artificiels. Vous pouvez construire vous-même un nichoir à chauves-souris à l’aide des documents disponibles sur notre site. Vous trouverez dans […]

Plan National d'Actions en faveur des Chiroptères

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Mr.Mark "The Sharpie King"Jun 8

@mycrowgirl
Super! Thank you so much, this is going to be a big project to bring back the bats, it’s not like we can just go down to the farm store and buy a couple dozen!