Savaged By Hamsters

[den]

I always think it's amusing to consider being attacked by a very small animal.

I can tell you now it bloody hurts. I picked up a bat this morning who had spent the night clinging to a swimming pool skimmer box. He's another young broadnosed bat, like Florence, except he thought he was a carnivore like Vampyrum Spectrum and went the fang. I'm not exaggerating when I say he savaged my hand: he bit me 7 times, drawing blood each time. That's like having 14 sewing pins stabbed into the side of my index finger and palm.

I've had the rabies shots so I'm happy that I won't get lyssavirus, but I soaked my hand in undiluted laundry bleach just to make sure. It stung a bit.

He's another young learner-flyer, weighs 5 grams and has a wingspan of 13cm.

When I weighed him the display on the scales showed "5g" then flickered and showed "bat." I wondered how it knew.

Then the battery went flat. heh.

Comments

[level-head.livejournal.com]

A five inch wingspan is small indeed; the term "microbat" is certainly appropriate.

He may not have been on time, but he was certainly, ah, punctual.

===|==============/ Level Head

[dewhitton.livejournal.com]

It's interesting that microbat is used to describe the insectivors and carnivors, while megabat describes the flying foxes and blossom-bats.

Intersting because some of the microbats (ghost bats) outwheigh the blossom bats by up to 10:1, and prey on them.

Unt, ve don't DO punns HERE!

[hedgegoth.livejournal.com]

We don't?
Let me get Azhie...

[makovette.livejournal.com]

Bwhahah :)

Hey, there's a really cool nifty invention called The Glove you can buy now. I hear OJ Simpson has a pair that don't fit too well...

CYa!
MAko

[dewhitton.livejournal.com]

I wear gloves for the larger bats, but with the small ones I can't tell how hard I'm squeezing them. I'm always afraid I'll either hurt them or not hold them firmly enough and they'll do more injury while escaping.