The recent storms have contributed to many new wildlife patients at our von Arx Wildlife Hospital including a bat colony of 156 pups.
On July 4, the von Arx Wildlife Hospital at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida received a call from a local resident about a bat colony found on the ground under a palm frond. Bats are considered rabies vectors in Florida, meaning that the animal can carry the rabies virus without showing symptoms and can pass it to humans. Human safety is our priority, so we advised the rescuer not to touch or handle the babies and to wait for our assistance.
Our team of professional wildlife rehabilitators arrived on scene and began to assess the situation. Hundreds of bat pups had fallen from the tree and were huddled together under a palm frond. Our goal was to return them to their parents as soon as possible, but first, a full exam needed to be done on each pup to check for injuries.
The staff performed an exam on each pup back at the wildlife hospital. In total, 156 Brazilian free-tailed bats were examined. Due to severe injuries, 11 needed to be humanely euthanized.
On the first night, the staff left the bats at the base of the tree hoping that the parents would come down to retrieve their pups. There were still a number of bats at the base of the tree when staff checked in the morning.
The rehabilitation staff brought the rest of the pups back to the wildlife hospital to ensure they were safe during the day and check hydration levels. Our team reached out to Bat World Sanctuary in Texas for specialized assistance as a number of bats still needed to be renested. The team at Bat World Sanctuary advised us to install a bat box as high up to the roost as possible in the tree and drape a pup catcher to catch bats that may fall from the bat box.
Our staff called one of our volunteers, Dylan at Homegrown Tree Care LLC, to help assist in hanging the box. Dylan has helped with renesting many of our wildlife patients in the past but has never hung a bat box before. Fortunately, Dylan had a bat box in his yard that was unoccupied that we were able to use, and our staff made a pup catcher. We checked the bats after two days and there were no bats in the catcher which meant that the parents were successfully taking care of the young bats.
Thank you to all who helped in this renesting! With your compassion, 145 bat pups were successfully renested.
Bat Facts
Bats roost in colonies. For Brazilian free-tailed bat colonies, the adult female bats take care of each other’s babies. They use vocal recognition and scent to identify their actual baby. Based on our personal von Arx Wildlife Hospital records, we have had 3 other bat colonies (2013, 2015, 2017) that also fell and needed assistance on July 4th. If you find a fallen palm frond, please check for bats as it is maternity season.
FWC states, “In Florida, bat maternity season, when it is illegal to exclude bats from buildings, typically runs from April 15th to August 15th. During this period, mother bats are raising their young, and it is illegal to install exclusion devices that would prevent bats from returning to their roosts, potentially trapping flightless pups. During this time, it is illegal to exclude bats from buildings without a permit. Exclusion devices (devices that allow bats to exit but not re-enter) can be used outside of maternity season to remove bats from structures. Bats are protected year-round in Florida, and it is illegal to harm or kill them.”
Rabies Information
If you find an injured animal that is considered a rabies vector, do not handle it directly. Some examples include foxes, raccoons, bats, otters, bobcats, skunks, and coyotes. Contact the von Arx Wildlife Hospital for guidance at 239-262-2273. We are open 365 days from 8am to 6pm. If instructed to transport the animal, wear thick gloves and use a secure, well-ventilated container. Avoid direct contact and never attempt to feed or treat the animal yourself. The von Arx Wildlife Hospital must treat rabies cases as instructed by Florida Administrative Code, Chapter 64D-3.
