Bats out of hell: The super-cute little orphans that have survived on a wing and a prayer

By Leon Watson


Sky, Abinger, Bell, Elsa and Hercules the orphaned baby grey-headed flying foxes being looked after by Wildlife Victoria volunteers


They've survived on a wing and a prayer.

And now these cute little winged critters are flying high at a special nursery for orphaned baby bats.

Wrapped up in tiny bunny rugs, they are being looked after by volunteers at Wildlife Victoria in Melbourne, Australia.

Snug as bugs in bat rugs: Melbourne's baby bats are filling the grey-headed flying fox nursery set up each year to care for orphaned bats


The staff are kept busy around the clock refilling formula bottles and rotating dummies for their baby bat friends.

Grey-headed flying fox babies are often rescued after their mums have been electrocuted on powerlines, fatally entangled in dark-coloured fruit tree netting or ripped apart on barbed wire.

The blankets help them feel secure and the orphans are put in a bat nursery where they thrive in the company of their little flying fox cousins.

WV development manager Amy Amato said: 'Coming from colonies we have found they do much better in company than on their own.'

Super-cute: Wildlife Victoria volunteers refill formula bottles and rotate dummies around the clock


Among the bat inmates are Sky, Abinger, Bell, Elsa and Hercules.

Grey-headed flying fox bats are native to Australia and have been known to survive for up to 22 years in captivity. In the wild, they usually live for around 15 years.

They are the largest species of bat in Australia and usually have a dark grey body with a light grey head and a reddish-brown neck collar of fur.

Adult grey-headed flying-foxes have an average wingspan of over 1m and can weigh up to 1kg.

The head and body length is between 230 and 289mm long, with an average of 253mm.



source:dailymail

Ready to fly on Halloween, the rescued bats who've had their torn wings fixed

By Jessica Satherley


Getting ready for Halloween: The little bats are getting their wings repaired at the Stapeley Grange Wildlife Centre in Cheshire


Wounded bats should be ready to fly in time for Halloween after an RSPCA centre discovered a new treatment to repair their wing injuries.

Sarah Goodwin led the study in Cheshire, which found that just a bit of rest and recuperation for the bats meant tears in their wings would heal by themselves.

She said the usual veterinary technique of stitching or gluing tears to the wings back together could cause issues with the bats removing stitches or glue when grooming.


Instead, she decided to care for the nocturnal mammals which came into her care by keeping them warm, giving them antibiotics and feeding them vitamin and mineral-rich food - the veterinary nurse also restricted their flight and gave them time to rest and heal.

In nearly all cases she found that the wings on the animal had healed back together of their own accord.

Sarah, from the Stapeley Grange Wildlife Centre in Cheshire, said: "I just couldn't believe how fast the wings grew back together.

"It was amazing. All they needed was a bit of rest and care and their wing membranes healed all by themselves - ready for them to fly back safely into the wild."

Repairing the wings: Some rest and recuperation for the bats meant tears in their wings would heal by themselves

The wings: On average it took around eight weeks for the healing process to work

The bats used in the 'Heal to Fly' project had been injured in various ways, including attacks from cats, out of the nine bats which have been admitted with severe wing tears over the past year, five have been returned to the wild, and two died from other injuries.

A remaining pair are still in care at the RSPCA centre but Sarah is hopeful that they can be returned to the wild soon.

On average it took around eight weeks for the healing process to work, before they were released back to the wild, the bats were given increasing flight practise to build up their strength.

Filling up on nutrients: The bats were fed a diet of vitamin-rich foods to recover

Injured: The bats used in the 'Heal to Fly' project had been injured in various ways - some by cats

Since they were all adults, it is hoped their chances of survival back in nature are equivalent to those who have not been injured.

Sarah said: "They already knew how to fly before they were injured, and would not have lost this skill despite their time in captivity.

"We are all really excited by the results so far. They will have far reaching consequences to the way we and other bat carers care for bats and will give bats with such injuries a second chance."


source:dailymail

Forget Snakes on a Plane... Passengers in a flap as BAT forces Delta flight to return to airport

By MIKE O'BRIEN

Winging it: The trapped bat makes the first of its four trips up the cabin aisle

Children crying constantly, oversized people who snore loudly... the list of potential nuisances on a plane is almost endless.

But short of a serious terror alert, a bat flapping wildly around your head when you're in mid-air has to top them all.

A Delta flight from Madison, Wisconsin, to Atlanta, Georgia, had to be rerouted back to Madison on Friday when a bat caused chaos in the cabin.


So close, but so far: At this point the bat flies near the bathroom door before turning around and flying up the aisle again


An unidentified passenger took video of the bat on his cell phone and posted it to CNN's iReport, the news network's forum for members of the public to publish their own news.

He described how he was asleep when a 'flying animal' that he believes was a bat started moving through the cabin.

He said: 'I woke up to a small scream and then I saw the bat fly over my head.
'I grabbed my phone to get some video as my friends would never believe this.


Flying menace: Passengers scream as the bat flies close to their heads

Then, as if by magic, it flies straight into the bathroom, upon which one passenger quickly closes the door to the collective sighs of relief and a few thumbs up.

Jarek Beem, a spokesperson for Delta Connections partner Atlantic Southeast Airlines, confirmed that flight 5121 did in fact return to Madison after a 'flying animal' was reported in the cabin.

The plane was searched fully before flying out again.

Mr Beem said: 'We were not able to confirm if it was a bird or a bat.

'Bottom line is the flight did return to Madison so the aircraft could be searched and it was after that search that it was able to return to Atlanta.'





source: dailymail

Four protected bats die and 47 orphaned after 'builder dumped them on side of country road'

By Daily Mail Reporter


One of the tiny bats that was rescued is given a special milk formula as volunteers fight to keep them alive


Four bats have died and 47 are being cared for after they were cruelly dumped by the side of a country lane and left to die.

Inside a box on the road near Ludgershall, Wiltshire, a passerby found the box of 51 pipistrelle bats - a protected breed - and all but two of them were pups.

After they were rescued they were taken to a nearby wildlife hospital where they were given round-the-clock treatment before being dispersed across Southern England to be cared for by volunteers.


It is thought that a builder may have come across the colony and rather than contacting authorities such as Natural England they removed them.

Because they are protected, to do so is illegal without a licence and police are now investigating.

Marilyn Boyes-Kortis, from Wiltshire Wildlife Hospital, said: 'It is absolutely disgusting that someone could do this.

'It is cold at night and they would have died very quickly if someone hadn't found them. They must have been really cold and babies need warmth.

'They will now have to be kept and looked after for a long time because the problem is teaching them how to feed and catch their own food.

'Someone has come across this nursery when they were doing building work, and realised that it would mean they would not be able to continue work until at least the autumn because it is illegal to disturb nesting bats at least until the babies have left the nursery.'

Bats usually only have one baby at a time meaning that dozens of parents would have become distressed to learn that their pups had disappeared.

Mrs Boyes-Kurtis spent the first night hand-feeding the baby bats with special formula milk before they were given to six 'foster carers'.

Six of the pipistrelles had to stay at the wildlife care centre for three days further observation before they were sent to a hospital on the Isle of Wight.


source:dailymail

Midnight feast: Incredibly patient photographer uses own hunter's instinct to capture bat swooping down on a scorpion

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Hunting sting: This fantastic photo captures the very moment the hungry bat swoops in to capture this scorpion


As it majestically swoops down to capture its scorpion prey this incredible picture shows the sheer power and stealth of this bloodthirsty bat.

Celebrated U.S. photographer Tom Whetten, 64, spends hours each night working in his 'studio in the wild' patiently waiting for the perfect moment to capture these creatures of darkness.

Using skills he has picked up while hunting other animals he painstakingly plans each of his shots to get the perfect wildlife picture.

Mr Whetten has developed his own stealthy system using four flashes and a laser beam, which triggers a camera and flash guns when broken by one of the bats.

Set up at his home, he has produced some amazing results, showing bats swooping at its prey, or simply taking a dip or drink in a pond surrounded by his equipment.

He said: 'I'm a hunter so I use the same skills I learned from that - it's exactly the same thing.


Scientific: Celebrated wildlife photographer Tom Whetten uses several flashes and a laser beam to capture the beautiful bat shots


'The skills, the understanding what wildlife does - I take time to learn about what they are doing and what they might do next before I start trying to take my pictures.

'I was hunting for 25 years. I just started walking around as a young kid studying their movement which then went to the next level when I was hunting.

'All I have done is transfer the knowledge of wildlife it taught me into my photography.

'When I got my first camera as a middle-aged guy I decided to give up hunting and became a full time photographer - it was a pretty seamless transition.'

Tom Whetten is from the U.S. city of Tucson, Arizona, and uses his lengthy research and experience to help plan his set-up in the wild.


Graceful: The bat, photographed in the heart of the Arizona desert, is captured using the hunting instincts of the photographer


He added: 'For these shots it can take several nights of work to get the ones I want.

'I will get 10 shots a night maybe, but because I pre-focus the camera if the bats don't fly through the trigger at the right angle the shot is out of focus.

'I have just a thin white line beam so if one flies through it a little too high then it isn't sharp.

'I might get a good picture but not a great picture, and a great picture is what I strive for.


Thirsty work: The bat washes down his scorpion dinner with a drink of water from this pond


'Part of my work is to create a mini studio out in the wild with four flashes and a photo trap triggering device to get it at the right moment.

'These kinds of pictures cannot be staged or corrected afterwards so it's a long, hard process, but when you get home and you realise you nailed the shot it's amazing.'

He now takes groups of amateur photographers on tours everywhere from his local haunts all the way to Africa.

He said: 'If I can pass on some of the unique skills I learned over the years to help them take brilliant pictures it's just as good a feeling as getting a great picture myself.'


source: dailymail