2023 Annual Report - Flipbook - Page 18
Addison McCool
This beau}ful girl was found
in a wood pile near Lipan,
Texas, trying to escape the
cold. She had nestled between the logs, nice and
snug, ready to go into torpor
(a form of semi-hiberna}on
which allows bats to conserve energy when food supplies are low). The woodpile
happened to be inside a
screened-in porch so it wasn9t long before Cannoli was
no}ced. The owners of the
home were surprised to 昀椀nd
a bat inside their screened porch and wanted to make sure she was okay. A sta昀昀
member made the hour-long trip to pick up }ny Cannoli, who was less than happy to be rescued from her wood pile. She was comfy where she was, aver all, but
alas this roost would not be safe for the li琀琀le bat. She had no way out of the
screened porch to hunt for tasty insects, and temperatures were close to freezing. Cannoli arrived at the sanctuary, where she will spend the remainder of the
winter with new friends before being released once warm weather arrives.
Addison McCool
Darren missed the migra}on
bus last fall and ended up in a
bit of trouble when he found
himself all alone on the ground
come winter}me. Thankfully, he
was located by kind homeowners and was taken to Big Country Wildlife Rehabilita}on Center in Abilene, Texas, where he
received a full check-up. Aside
from being thin and dehydrated,
he appeared rela}vely healthy.
Since Darren could not be released un}l spring, our transporter and volunteer extraordinaire Lis made the
260 mile trek to bring Darren to us! The li琀琀le guy appeared very grateful for the
e昀昀ort, as he immediately se琀琀led in with our colony of over 40 non-releasable
Mexican free-tails. Darren quickly learned to eat whole mealworms all by himself, and could oven be found 昀氀ying laps in our 昀氀ight enclosure. He was given a
clean bill of health and, once spring arrived, he was released with several other
friends being overwintered with us.
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