I have a bat problem

[den]

Yesterday I was handed a Vespadelus vulturnus, a little forest bat who weighed a whole 5 grams. She is uninjured, healthy and quite fat. It was a simple rescue and release.

Or so I thought *sfx: dramatic sting*

I thought, she's fat and healthy. I'll just hang the bat tent in the tree and she'll fly off. The plan went swimmingly well, except for the bit about the bat flying off.This morning I grabbed the tent and was startled by a tiny growl. The bat was still in there!. Bugger. So I shut the tent door and waited for night. Tonight I fed her some meal worms because she missed a feed last night, and to ensure she found her way outside the tent I removed her and placed her on top. She scuttled around for a few minutes, found the openeing, and climbed back into the tent. Bugger! So I evicted her again with much grumpyness, placed her on top, then zipped the door shut. I hope she leaves tonight.

I hope she's not just free-loading on my meal worms.

Comments

[oceansedge.livejournal.com]

*smiles*.., isn't it nice to be loved :)
Your reputation must be getting around the bat community :)

[dewhitton.livejournal.com]

"For a free feed and a warm roost..."

Young Bat's Care Association

[torakiyoshi.livejournal.com]

0/~
Young bat, there's no need to feel down.
I said, young bat, pick yourself off the ground.
I said, young bat, 'cause you're in a new town
There's no need to be unhappy.

Young bat, there's a place you can go.
I said, young bat, when you're short on your dough.
You can stay there, and I'm sure you will find
Meal worms are so darn tasty.

It's fun to stay at the Y-B-C-A.
It's fun to stay at the Y-B-C-A.

They have everything for young bats to enjoy,
You can hang upside down for worms...

It's fun to stay at the Y-B-C-A.
It's fun to stay at the Y-B-C-A.

You can get yourself warm; you can have a good meal,
You can do whatever you feel...

Young bat, are you listening to me?
I said, young bat, what do you want to be?
I said, young bat, you can make real your dreams.
But you've got to know this one thing!

No bat does it all by himself.
I said, young bat, put your pride on the shelf,
And just go there, to the Y-B-C-A.
I'm sure they can help you today.

It's fun to stay at the Y-B-C-A.
It's fun to stay at the Y-B-C-A.

They have everything for you men to enjoy,
You can hang upside down for worms...

It's fun to stay at the Y-B-C-A.
It's fun to stay at the Y-B-C-A.

You can get yourself clean; you can have a good meal,
You can do whatever you feel...

Young bat, I was once in your shoes.
I said, I was down and out with the blues.
I felt no one cared if I were alive.
I felt the whole world was so jive...

That's when someone came up to me,
And said, young bat, go and hang in the tree.
It's a place there called the Y-B-C-A.
They can start you back on your way.

It's fun to stay at the Y-B-C-A.
It's fun to stay at the Y-B-C-A.

They have everything for young men to enjoy,
You can hang out with all the boys...

Y-B-C-A
It's fun to stay at the Y-B-C-A.
Young bat, young bat, there's no need to feel down
Young bat, young bat, pick yourself off the ground

Y-B-C-A
It's fun to stay at the Y-B-C-A.
Young bat, young bat, are you listening to me
Young bat, young bat, what do you wanna be

Y-B-C-A
You’ll find it at the Y-B-C-A
No bat, young bat, does it all by himself
Young bat, young bat, put your pride on the shelf

Y-B-C-A
Then just go to the Y-B-C-A
Y-B-C-A
Young bat, young bat, I was once in your shoes
Y-B-C-A
Young bat, young bat, what do you wanna do
Y-B-C-A
0/~

Have the best

-=TK

[ngarewyrd.livejournal.com]

Could it be one of your prior rescues come back to enjoy their spring holiday at the Casa del Whitten?

[dewhitton.livejournal.com]

Could be. I think she's just mooching.

[ironbark.livejournal.com]

then you could name her "Minnie the Moocher"

[dewhitton.livejournal.com]

Hi-de hi-de hi-de hi!

*Echoes*

[torakiyoshi.livejournal.com]

Hi-de hi-de hi-de hi!

Have the best

-=TK

[bookofnights.livejournal.com]

Maybe she's not fat, she's pregnant and starving, seeking to find shelter in the cold cruel world and wondering how she will survive as a single parent. Then she finds a wonderous place, warm and with enough food to support her in her time of need, only to be cast out again, through no fault of her own.

Or not :)

[dewhitton.livejournal.com]

She is pregnant, but she's not starving. There is a nice layer of muscle and I can't feel the bones at all. The don't get fat because they balance on a knife edge between eating to survive and being light enough to fly.

[janetmiles.livejournal.com]

This is wonderfully written!

[ursulav.livejournal.com]

Wouldn't ya know it...there's always somebody who'll take advantage of charity. *grin*

[beki.livejournal.com]

Is it possible that she is near time to give birth? I dont know bat breeding habits, but she might be looking for a place to nest or whatever it is bats do when they are about to have young. Do you have a bat box she can hang out in and get her own dinner for herself at?

[dewhitton.livejournal.com]

She is definately pregnant, but she's not ill. She is in excellent contition. But a cloth tent is the wrong place for a pup. She needs to find her maternity colony and settle in with the other mums.

[beki.livejournal.com]

I didnt realize the females would have a colony all of their own with newborns. A friend of mine has a couple of bat boxes up on a couple of huge trees in her yard. I just figured you might have something like that hanging around as it were :)

[blush10ac.livejournal.com]

Actually I hope she is just free loading and the poor girl isn't ill. Hopefully she gets bored and moves along tonight.

"Ev'rybody's talkin' 'bout you."

[klishnor.livejournal.com]

Word has definitely got around the bat population.

I get this strange image of you as a Mad Max type character in their stories. The one from MM2 that is.

They're in trouble.
You turn up and fix things for them.
You move out of their lives again.