What do wildlife rehabilitators do with bats?
We all know that in recent years a great deal of knowledge has been gained about bat in recent years.
But rehabilitation of bats is still in a relatively early stage of development after so much awareness
and enormous informationabout Washington bats. The explosion of social interest in bats, catalyzed by educational
programs brought out public attention for bats and their rehabilitation. Development in the guidelines
and procedures in the Seattle Bat Conservation Fund are seen over several years through trial and error
over ages.
Bats are unusual animals and they specific care, so someone who is an expert requires valuable treatment.
Becoming a licensed bat rehabilitator requires lot of training, attending conferences, working along with
veterinarians and getting well versed with the latest research. The Washington rehabilitators also require lot of funding
as they deal with sick and wounded bats, which require medicine, equipment and for certain food. The protocol
which the rehabilitators offer to help a bat stay calm and to prevent the handler or any other person from being
bitten, include lot of protection and following guidelines:
• Firstly the rehabilitators emphasize on screening of the calls, after screening they respond to calls with a
bat rescue kit. They carry a small escape proof cage equipped with bedding for transport. To make sure the bat
is well hydrated they often use 1cc syringes loaded with Ringers. Gloves, extendable pole and cloths for picking
and wrapping bats taking into account their comfort are kept at ease.
• Then the Washington bat rehabilitators immediately put them under the screening for CNS rabies symptoms. If the bat is
in a cold and sleepy state then primarily they are allowed to warm up and awaken before being evaluated for
rabies symptoms.
• The very next safety measure the rehabilitators take after the CNS symptom examination is the physical examination.
With the help of jeweler’s magnifying glass they examine every minute details spanning from the entire wing checkup
down to each and every tip of the fingers. Because half of the bats brought to the rehabilitation center involve kind
of compound fractures in arm bones. Finally after a thorough physical examination the bats are weighed with a gram
scale, and after that water is offered to the Seattle bats orally.
• The Seattle bat is then allowed to rehydrate and quiet down. If the bat is an adult or a juvenile one some mealworms are
offered. In the rehabilitation center the infant Washington bats are feed with puppy formula weekend to ¼th strength. After the
first feeding the bats are introduced to a small holding cage with soft material on the bottom and the whole cage is
draped with soft materials all over the sides.
Once the Seattle bat acclimatizes and can sustain a flight, it is released back into the area where they were found by the
rehabilitators. A few rehabilitation facilities have Washington permits to keep non-releasable bat for educational purpose.
To learn more about our services, visit the Seattle wildlife removal home page.