UPDATE - Bat Rescue

It has been an eventful few days. Our previous post about finding a drenched and exhausted bat provoked a lot of comment and advice both on the blog and on social media sites. We also contacted various organisations in Spain and the UK that support bat education, research and rescue. In addition we contacted Seprona (Servicio de Protección de la Naturaleza). The advice offered was mixed, some helpful and some not so helpful. In the end we made a decision that we would follow our instinct of minimal intervention and as early release as possible.

We continued to offer honey and water via droplets out of a syringe and made available finely minced cat food and meat jelly. The tiny bat took little and spent most of the days resting underneath cloth in a plant terrarium on the cool balcony. Our thinking was a couple of days to recuperate, then rehouse in a bat box and let nature take its course.

I built a bat box with instructions and specifications found here (something we have been meaning to do for some time), and made the decision that we would temporarily, position the box up high on our workshop window ledge; some 4 meters of the ground. The time came when there was a break in the weather and the temperatures had risen...

Time to relocate the bat to its new home and wait and see. We gently moved the little bat (a pipistrelle we think) and helped it climb up into the sanctuary of the new bat box. It slowly climbed higher and higher into the box. From the ground we could just about see it.

Much to our surprise and delight, about an hour later whilst Luis was taking a look through binoculars, the bat eased its way down and took flight. Fortunately I was close at hand and we both watched as it soared with ease and made its way to rocky outcrops and woodlands just across the field next to our house. This is ideal territory and we hope that it found refuge and that it has a second chance to live a fruitful life. Pipistrelles can live 6 or so years.

The next time we see bats diving and gliding in the soft yellow light of the local street lamps we will no doubt remember our encounter with this delightful creature and consider what a privilege it has been to spend a few days caring for it. The next job is to make further bat boxes and install them around our plot. We'll keep you informed in further posts.

Our first bat box

Rescuing a bat in winter

The weather has been pretty grim for the past few weeks with many heavy storms, strong winds and cold. Not the best of weather for creatures great or small. On my way to the workshop yesterday morning I spotted something out of the corner of my eye that made an impression in my mind as I carried on and began rummaging through the chest freezer. You know the sort of feeling that you need to take a closer look... On my way out Gawber the cat, who was two steps in front of me, stopped and sniffed at this little dark lump on the ground. I looked closer and saw a tiny bat. My first thought was that it was dead, probably caught out by a heavy storm or even worse, clawed by one of our cats as it swooped down looking for insects. Its tiny wing moved. It was sodden and covered in cobwebs.

I gently put the bat in a small cardboard box with some dried leaves and kitchen roll and, placed it in the boiler room where there is always a warm ambient temperature. After removing the cobwebs with tweezers, the next job was to research what to do? I trawled the Internet and found that most sites recommend making the bat safe, handle only with gloves due to disease and then call a bat charity, volunteer, vet or animal rescue centre. This is rural Spain... I was on my own. I had read that bats found in such circumstances could be exhausted or dehydrated and to try feeding it water and jelly from cat food from a paint brush. I tried several times but the little creature just licked the moisture of its furry face and then kept turning its head away when offered more. The bat had dried out and was much more alert and active.

 I contacted a couple of people who were volunteers for UK based bat charities who suggested that once it had dried out to put it up high in the evening and it could possibly fly. I did, on the balcony, it didn't.

The bat box on the balcony

Following further investigation and advice via contacts on social media, we concluded that the bat was probably still in a hibernation period and it could have been blown from its roost. We were also advised to examine it closer for tears in the wings as antibiotics would be required if that was the case. Fortunately, the wings seemed intact. We have made further attempts to hydrate it with honey and water and will put a small amount of cat food/jelly for it to eat if it wants. It is now housed back in the boiler room in a plant propagator filled with a piece of cloth, a twig or two, some dried leaves and honey water. If it is hibernating, it could be a few more weeks before it is ready to fly and as they can live on very small amount of fat reserves, I am not too worried. We will keep you updated on his progress and carry on with our research and investigation as to what the next steps should be.

Alert and ready to bite

If there is anyone out there who has experience of this sort of thing and can advise us what to do, please get in touch.

BAT UPDATE CLICK HERE

Joining in #AnimalTales with Rosie at:

http://eco-gites.blogspot.fr/2015/02/animal-tales-13.html