A baby bat!

My husband gently picked up the leaf and laid the bat in the box. He was shivering. Besides this small shaking he appeared dead. He showed no signs of life. I walked, with the bat in the box, back to the house. I turned on my animal nursing skills. 

As I sat in the house, box in hand, I asked my husband to find a heat lamp. I attached it to the box. Having raised baby chicks, I knew light would get some warmth on the bat. The bat was still playing dead, but I also sensed he was cold, not dead. It was a bit chilly on this winter January day.

I then called the county health department. After a short conversation with them, I called the Wildlife Sanctuary in our county. A very skilled gal then explained what we should do. All her suggestions were what we had just done. She suggested I lay him on a taller tree branch. She explained that he would continue to rest until he was ready to fly away. 

So, I walked outside with my bat in the box. The bat still lay motionless. I approached a branch on my lilac tree. It seemed like a perfect branch to lay my little bat upon.

…. Continued next week….