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

[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!