FQA (Frequent Asked Questions)

1. What is this disease call White Nose Syndrome? Bat Conservationist and Scientists are still trying to figure this out.

2. How can you tell the gender of a bat?      Turn the bat over, if there is something (penis) it’s a guy if there isn’t then it’s a girl.

3. Could a bat live if its wing is ripped?  The wing may heal so the bat can fly and be released

4. Are bats flammable? (Sorry friend got a little crazy thinking of questions) Bats can be burned. It is recommended to burn and bury a bat after it has died.

5. How many shots do you get for rabies shots?    If you get the shots before you get bitten just for the safety you only need to get 3 shots. If you get the shots after you get bitten then you will be getting 5 shots. You would get 4 rabies vaccine injections and then the gamma globulin shots

6. Do the shots hurt? Depends on what shot you need, who is giving the shots, and where the shot is being put.

7. Where do you get the shots? The rabies shots are normally given in the upper arm muscle like a flu shot. The gamma globulin shots usually are given at the site of the bite and the remaining dose amount in the buttocks, arm or thy.  

8. What temperature do bats prefer? Females and males have different requirements. Because the females raise the pups, they prefer warmer temperatures than do males who tend to live singlely or in much smaller groups.   

9. What type of bat prefers wooded areas? Slow fliers

10. What type of bat prefers open areas? Fast fliers

11. What type of bat prefers desert areas? Fast fliers  

12. What does a bat conservationist do? Studies bats, and all items about them to help maintain this species.   

13. What are the chances of a bat having rabies? It is less than 1/2 of half of 1 percent that bats have rabies. It is higher in raccoons and skunks

SGT Slide 8th bat rescue

  Mom came downstairs to my room and said someone wanted to talk to me about something. I thought it had something to do with Future Soldier people. I was trying to figure out why someone wanted to talk to me about that. When I got on the phone it was my Dad. He told me someone had to tell me something and then he gave the phone. I found out that someone found a bat on Fort McCoy.
            They called my Dad and he told them that they need to get the bat in a box and then my Dad said he would come and get it. The bat was found on a slide of a door in a storage area. I had the person who found the bat pick a name. Because she was on Fort McCoy she was an Army bat and it had to start with SGT. then with her being on a slide of a door we named her SGT Slide.
            When I got off the phone I got dressed because Dad said we should come pick her up. When we got to Fort McCoy where dad was, Dad gave me the box with the bat in it. I slowly opened the box to see her. Dad told me he had done that a few times and said she stayed put so it was fine. After talking with Dad for a while we started to leave. But before we got too far we parked the van and moved that bat from the box to the cage we had. Then we went home.
            That night we released her in a mystery spot. We used the van lights to see her fly away. It was a little scary because I went to open the cage and I didn’t see that one of her feet was holding the top of the cage. So I opened it and she chattered. I said sorry and carefully moved her foot and opened the cage. It was about 10 minutes and she flew. I was so excited I screamed yeah and she almost flew into mom, who was video taping it. Yeah, another successful release.
           

Brick 7th bat rescue

Brick was hanging in the corner outside my school, by the main entrance. One of my friends saw him and told me. I got really excited and had her show me where he was. It was at the end of the day at the time so I just saw him and then had to leave. The next day he was still there. I kept bringing friends downstairs with me to go see
Brick. I couldn’t reach Brick but I enjoyed looking at him.
            Brick was at High Point for four days. I kept going outside to see him. One day, I wanted to go see him but I kept getting told, “No you have to wait” by one of my friends. It was raining that day, but at break time two of my friends and I went downstairs to see him. After a couple minutes we started pushing each other out in the rain. One of my friends was standing behind me and I told my other friend quietly what I was going to do, Then I pulled my friend behind me into the rain with me, two or three times. It was a lot of fun.
            The next couple days Brick was still there, I was getting worried. I called my mentor and he told me to leave Brick there and on Saturday if he is still hanging there then grab him. This was on a Thursday. At school Friday Brick was still at High Point in the same spot. I didn’t go and look at him as much as before, but every once in a while I did go see him.
            While I was working, one of my friends came back from class and told me that some kids threw a rock at Brick and knocked him down. That made me mad. I dropped what I had and went outside. Brick was laying on the ground right behind the door. If some one wasn’t careful opening the door Brick could have gotten hurt, maybe even worse. I went and got Steve and had him help me get gloves and a box to put him in. I carefully grabbed Brick and put him in the box. Then I showed him to a few people while I waited for mom to come pick him up.
            On September 23, that night we just let him chill for a while. We wanted to make sure he wasn’t freaking out. So we just let him relax. It was raining still so we couldn’t release him that night. We had a foster kid over and she enjoyed seeing the bat. She will not stop talking about bats or about Brick. She had a lot of fun learning more about them and actually being able to see one.

              At about noon on September 24 we tried to feed him. I was holding him while Mom was trying to feed Brick a meal worm. Brick went to go after the meal worm when it fell and actually flew out of my hands and mom blocked him from flying too far. I had my gloves on and Mom didn’t. When Brick flew he bit mom. We got Brick back in the cage and then went to the emergence room. Mom got talked to about what was needed because she got bit. And then we got sent home because they didn’t have the stuff with them yet. At about 2 pm we went back and mom got 3 of the shots. A part of one shot was put at the tip of her finger where she got bit and then some of the same shot got put on both sides of her finger by the knuckle. The rest of the shot got put in her thigh. The other two shots she got were in her shoulders, one on each side. She got 5 shots total and 4 of them were rabies shots.
            That night was homecoming and we got told by my mentor to just let him relax and watch him for a few days. So we did that. On September 26^th or 27^th we released him. We went to Fort McCoy by the bat houses and about 5 or 10 minutes went by and he flew out of the cage.

Martha 6th bat rescue

Martha August 31, 2010

        This is the 6^th bat that I have rescued. The way this one starts is the night before the rescue. I was at music practice and got asked to go make some copies of a song. Then our Pastor called me into his office because he heard that I like bats and that I don’t like them being killed. After talking with him for a while I gave him one of my cards so he could call me if he sees his flying friend again.
That night which was on August 23 we got a phone call asking to come rescue a bat. It was our pastor. We told him to watch the bat so we would know where he is at. When we got there our pastor was waiting for us outside. As soon as he saw that bat he ran out of his house and called us from the church. That didn’t help us any because when we went inside we looked in many places. All over the house, but we couldn’t find him. Now what didn’t help any is that he is moving into the house so he has a lot of boxes lying around where a small bat could hide very easily.
Before we left we told our Pastor a few small bat information to calm him down. That way next time he might stay in the house when he sees the bat again. Then we went home and waited for another bat rescue phone call.
The next day August 24 we got another bat rescue call. It was our pastor. When we got to the house he was inside waiting for us to come. Just over night our Pastor went from scared to actually being able to stay in the same room as the bat. We were proud of him, but we didn’t say anything. When we got inside our pastor said the bat was in the window, and he checked. Then when we couldn’t find the bat, our pastor looked down behind the washing machine. He said, “oh there he is.” The bat was on the washing machine cord trying to crawl up it. Mom could tell the bat was scared so she grabbed him instead of me. After we put him in the cage our pastor was really ok and would look at him.
We left the house and went over to my church and showed Janis the bat. While we were there figured out a name for the bat. We named her Martha because she was on the washing machine cord for Martha Washington. After showing Martha to Janis and Al we brought her home.
Martha started biting on the cage, so mom gently blew at her face so she would stop. She didn’t like that at all. By the time we went to release her almost everyone in the house blew at her to stop biting the cage. A little bit before we released her I went and looked at her in the cage, she was crawling around and when she got to the side of the cage where I was she stopped. It would have been a cute picture because we were nose to nose. Well kind of, there was a cage in between us but it still would have been a cute picture to put on face book.
After we ate dinner Mom, Angela, Faith, 2 foster boys, and I went to Fort McCoy to release Martha. On the way there I had mom’s camera and took a video of Martha trying to get out. A few minutes later we were at Fort McCoy. Mom, Angela, and I got out of the van, I had Martha. While Angela and Mom were videoing I was unzipping the cage. Then we waited about 5 minutes while Martha was crawling around in the cage. While we waited, we had a ton of misquotes trying to eat us. We also saw a lot of bats flying around. The 2 boys and Faith were counting all the bats that came out of the bat houses. When Martha finally flew away we got in the van and watched her fly around for a bit, and then we left. All of us enjoyed watching Martha enjoy her new home.

Reggie 5th bat rescue

Reggie August 19, 2010, rescued August 17, 2010

We were taking the foster boys we have to Black River Falls to their mom for a visit. While we were heading here our Pastor texted my mom, “Does Tara want another flying Fluffy thing?” I took the phone and we talked a little bit. After a while we stopped texting and the two boys were with their mom. So we headed back to Sparta. When we got back we went to our house to drop Angela and Faith off and grab what we needed. Then Mom and I went to our pastor’s house. He wasn’t home but Lucy and Bea was, so they let us in.
            Lucy showed us where the bat was, He was upstairs in the living room hanging from the vent register. I stepped up on the futon/ couch and gently grabbed him. I did have gloves on this time. All that he did was opened his mouth while I was holding him and then pretty much just chilled and relaxed for a while. He did a little bit of chattering but not much. We brought him home and hung the cage we put him in from the ceiling. When Mom and I headed home we decided to name the bat Reggie because he was on the register.
            We then got the dogs and took them to the vet appointment they had. While we were there we saw our pastor and told him, “Reggie was out of his house now. “ When the vet appointment was over nothing much happened with Reggie other than just hanging in the cage. I did show him to my Aunt Renee and her kids. Then later mom and I brought him to the church to show Al our janitor and Janis our secretary. Then we went home, on our way home I told Reggie that, if there was away I would hang him in the cage with a towel over him I would. Then I said but I’m not cutting my towel. He yelled at me. Okay just chattered but still.
            Later we brought Reggie to bible study with us so I could show my friends. While Reggie was on the table one of my friends was tapping her fingers on the table. Then a little bit later she dropped her phone on the table. Reggie watched her really well. I even turned the cage and he watched her. A few minutes later mom took Reggie home.
            After bible study mom brought Reggie back. When we got in the van mom said that she was worried about Reggie because he didn’t move from the one spot the entire time since the phone was dropped. I got worried and watched him. There were a few times when I stopped watching him, so I could talk to mom. One of those times Reggie went from the bottom of the cage to the top and then he chattered at me. It was funny because he scared me when he did that.
            We were headed to Fort McCoy to release him at this time. When we got there we saw a few other bats flying around. I went and started unzipping the cage. When I got half way Reggie was almost to the opening. So I put my hand over it so he would have to wait to get out. When I finally got the door part unzipped all the way, Reggie crawled all the way to the door and peeked out, a moment later he was flying around. What is really cool is that mom got a picture of him flying. I can’t wait until my next call, this is fun. But don’t tell Angela that she agrees.

Edge 4th bat rescue

Edge    July 6, 2010

Yesterday on July 5, 2010 about 2:00 in the afternoon, I got a phone call saying that someone found a bat that needed out of their house. The bat was at my Uncle’s house. The bat was in his bed room above the closet door, on the ledge of the door fame. When we got there and saw him he was sitting so cute on the ledge of the door fame just minding his own business. Then I got on the bed after Mom got a picture. My Uncle was videoing me getting the bat and my Mom was taking pictures. I went to grab the bat but he yelled at me and scared me for a second. Then I went back to grab him for the second time and he wouldn’t let go of the ledge. While I was grabbing him he bit my hand, it hurt like the dickens. But it was just a leave me alone bite on a protective bite which would have been worse. I couldn’t tell at the time if he broke skin or not because I was still holding him. When I grabbed him I was not wearing gloves because we didn’t have any that would work at the time. So when I got him in the container I brought for him, I looked at my hand to see how bad it might have been. It wasn’t that bad; at first you couldn’t tell if he even broke skin. I looked closer and then you could tell he did actually break skin. 

For a while we stayed at my Uncle’s house laughing, taking picture and videoing him. He wouldn’t stop chattering at all it got a little annoying after a while. We also talked to each other a little bit. When we finally decided we were leaving I saw Cream, one of my Uncles cats, in the hallway so I put the bat on the floor so he could check it out. It was funny he couldn’t figure out what was up because he usually jumps and smacks them while they are flying around. After about 2 minutes of watching him we went and showed Lucy and Bea who lives downstairs and they both liked seeing that he was leaving the house.

Then we were walking out and the bat was really quiet, I pointed that out to my Aunt because she is like will he ever be quiet? As soon at we got in the truck, he started to chatter again. I recorded him. When we got home I showed my Dad and two sisters then called my mentor and told him about rescuing the bat, being bit, and a few other things. I then hung him up on a hook hanging from the ceiling down stairs. We went and got mealworms for him because it was raining out and we were not going to let him free if it was raining. We tried to feed him a few but he was more on the lets walked around and not see the food. After a while I went back to writing and Mom went and worked on sewing a dress. When the sewing machine was going Edge (the name of the bat),was quiet but as soon as she took her foot off the pedal to make the sewing stop he would chatter again. It was funny.

I left for a while with my Aunt and Uncle and went out to eat during bible study time for doing a mini sermon at church on Sunday one time. When we got back my family and I left and went to Fort McCoy and went to the area where they had bat houses to set Edge free. Before we let him go we looked inside the other bat houses and saw that almost all of them were being used. There were two that had a group of babies in them too. I thought that was cute. Also in two of the bat houses that didn’t have bats in them they had a nest. We don’t know why or where it came from. After looking at in the bat houses we went back to the truck and opened the container that Edge was in to set him free. He flew away and is now flying around somewhere around Fort McCoy now I think.

Interest to 3rd bat rescue

My interest in bats began many years ago when I was in 4^th grade. At that time I didn’t know much about them. Now I have studied them and have even rescued a few. This is the story of how I became a bat rescuer.             The very first bat I saw was in Mackinac Island when I was in 4^th grade. My class went there for a yearly trip. When our group had some free time, my mom and I walked around the hotel to see how big it was. While we were walking around, we saw a bat flying around in the hallway. It was really fun watching him. After a while the bat hid in a plant, and my Mom and I played scavenger hunt. After a while we found him. It was a lot of fun, and I wish I could have that much fun again.
            Walking our mechanics son after school to his work, we saw a bat just sitting on the ledge of the Sparta Coop. We stopped to look at it for a while and then crossed the street to the work. Because it was sitting on the ledge I got a good look at the bat, later research I figured out that it was a big brown bat.
            The next bat I saw was when we were welcoming soldiers back from overseas. While my mom, sisters, and I were waiting, we moved closer and leaned against a building. There was shallow recess in the wall we were leaning against. Something inside me told me to turn around so I did and then I saw the bat. I got my mom and older sister’s attention to show them that the bat was right there. The bat was right by my mom’s arm. It was really cool. I kept watching the bat to see if he would move or something; but then he didn’t but it was fun watching him.
            During our yearly trip to Colorado we went up to Bishops Castle to visit my uncle’s ashes. After going up to the third or forth level to see his ashes, we went a little bit higher and then went all the way down. While walking around on the ground, my older sister saw a bat in a tub of water, and she showed my mom. My mom told my sister to get me so we could see if he was swimming or trying to get out. I looked at him, he was trying to get out, I really wanted to just pick him up and set him on the ground, but I couldn’t because I didn’t have my rabies shots and my mom wouldn’t let me. My mom told my sister to get my dad and little sister. When they came and saw the bat, dad left to get a shovel to scoop him out with. Dad got him out of the tub of water and for the rest of the time we were there I was taking pictures of the bat.
            My earlier experiences with bats were only visual, but one night I actually felt bats as they flew by. One night as I was walking my dog, I felt the wind of something fly past me on my neck. In fact I think a bat’s wing brushed my cheek. Once my mom and I figured out that it was a bat, I was excited but I was not scared or freaking out.
            The next three bats I saw were at the home of my mentors who have an open house every year. Because my mom had called them for some information for my presentations, they invited my family and me to their open house. When we got there they welcomed me like I was a part of the family. At 6:30 pm, a group of people went downstairs to their basement to see the bats. We got to see a big brown bat, a little brown bat, and the hoary bat. The little brown bat was being feisty. He didn’t want to be shown, he just wanted to hide. I made a joke because he was chattering. I said that the little brown bat was saying, “Leave me alone or I’m going to bite you.” Then he did. After every one left the room, my family and I got to pet the big brown bat and the hoary bat. They felt like soft fluffy puppies, actually softer.
            A few months later I experienced rescuing a bat myself. One rainy morning two of my friends found him on the steps outside and came and told me. After a while I went to find him. My friend thought he was dead, but I nudged him with a stick, and he started taking bigger breaths. This was the very first bat I rescued without mom or dad around; I was really excited and nervous at the same time. Not remembering what to do I called my mentor and asked him. He told me what to get. When I got back to the bat my friends tried putting him in the box, but he didn’t like them very much. I used the handle of a fork and a lid of a container to scoop him up to set in the box. While I was doing that, he hissed and bared his teeth at me. After putting air holes in the box and I closing it I put the box in the garage office so the bat could dry off and not be bothered.
            That night we went to a friend’s house to set him free but, even after spending close to two hours trying to free him, he wouldn’t go, so we took him home. He kept walking around the box even when I scratched on it. When it was time for bed, I put a blanket on the box so the light wouldn’t hurt him. We named the bat Stepper because he was on the steps when I rescued him.
            In the morning mom took the blanket off the box, and Stepper was still moving around. Because I didn’t have the right licensing, I knew I couldn’t keep Stepper. Later that day when we brought Stepper to set him free again, we found out that he had died while I was at school. It was really sad because he was the very first bat I rescued without my mom and dad around. I called my mentor and asked what I could do with the body. She said my choices were to send him in so he could get cut open and tested or to burn and bury him. When dad got home from work we burned and buried him, because I knew I wouldn’t be able to handle having him get cut open and tested.
            Because I knew I was planning on rescuing many more bats, I got my rabies shots so I can hold the bats when I rescue them. Instead of using a box and something to gently get the bat in the box, I can now just grab the bats very carefully with my hands and then put them in the box. There were three shots in the series, I have to get booster shots every once in a while just to make sure I didn’t get rabies.
            The next year we got invited again to the open house, but this time we saw the big brown bat, the little brown bat, and the silver haired bat. It was really cool. After everyone left, I got to hold the big brown bat; he was really soft. I couldn’t quit smiling for the longest time. The bat also tried to fly out of my hands, but Ken caught him. It was an exciting evening.
The most recent bat I rescued was just next door at my neighbor’s door. My neighbor was walking her dog and claimed that a bat attacked her and her dog. Bats do not attack people or animals, but they do go for the bugs that are near you. When we heard her screaming, my mom and sister went out to check what was wrong and found out that it was a bat. My sister came and got me so I could help. I went to the garage and got a box that I could put the bat in. My dad and I had an argument on how I should get the bat, but I won that. When I got the bat in the box, I went down the stairs and waited for mom so we could leave to set the bat free. After talking with my uncle who could tell how excited I was decided to come with so we went and picked him up so he could watch me release the bat. When we got to our destination, I put the box with the bat in it on the camper. When I opened the box, it took the bat about five seconds to realize that there was an exit. Then she was gone and was enjoying her new home. I was smiling so much my uncle thought I was going to explode. When we got home, we looked at the picture we took of the bat on my neighbor’s sign, and all you could see with the bat was part of a name “Alynn,” so we named her Alynn.
When I did my most recent bat presentations, I gave all the teachers my number. If any of the kids or teachers need a bat rescuer, they can call me. A few days later I got a phone call asking me to come get a bat. When I got there, the bat was missing. We looked for the bat for about and hour or so, but we couldn’t find him. We told them to call us again if they found the bat again. While we were in Colorado for our yearly trip he called us back at 3 am, asking if we could come over and get the bat. We told him that we couldn’t because we were in Colorado, but if he got the bat in a box we would call my mentor and have him come and pick the bat up. He didn’t get the bat in the box, so the bat is still hiding in his house somewhere. Hopefully, we will get the bat out soon so they won’t need to worry about him anymore.
I get excited when I get a phone call asking for help getting a bat. I really enjoy seeing and rescuing these bats which I call my babies. It’s really fun and it gets even better when you rescue the bat and then release it in a new home. I can’t wait until I get to do it all over again. I love helping bats and I will keep it up until the last minute possible. I am really glad I found something that I enjoy doing in life and plan to become when I grow up.