2023 Annual Report - Flipbook - Page 20
Addison McCool
When an arc}c front passed through Texas around New Years Eve, over 1,600
bats were discovered aver falling from their roosts beneath several bridges.
Most of these bats were in the Houston, Texas area. Mary Warwick, Director of
the Houston Humane Society, quickly went to work gathering the fallen bats
from sidewalks and other areas below the bridges, and then contacted us for
help.
We advised slowly warming the bats, and then doing a health check on each bat
to see who could go back into torpor (a semi-hibernated state) un}l the weather
warmed. A warm front was expected within days so the bats could be released
then. Thankfully, Mary had an a琀�c that would maintain the perfect temperature
for the healthy bats to sleep un}l they could be released. We then sent a volunteer over to help Mary sort through the bats to determine who was healthy
enough to be released and who needed long-term care. Then, a wonderful
transport volunteer made a 12-hour round trip to bring the bats needing extra
care to Bat World MidCi}es and Bat World Sanctuary.
When more bats began to fall from other bridges, our volunteers made addi}onal trips to save as many as possible. Over 160 bats arrived at Bat World for care
and aver two to three weeks of injec}ons of warmed electrolytes and good nutri}on, they were fully recovered and ready to 昀氀y free.
A few weeks later, Kate Rugroden, our Director of Special Projects, made a special trip to Houston to teach a two-day class to Mary and her team of volunteers
(see page 28). The bats who had needed temporary special care also traveled to
Houston with Kate so they could be released back into their colonies.
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