That's the latest oddball news from . . .
Tuesday, June 08, 2010
Strange bedfellow
Last night I was straightening the covers in preparation for going to bed, when, by the dim light from the closet, I saw a mouse on the corner of the bed. It had to be dead; it wasn't moving. But just in case, I wasn't, either. (I haven't had any mice in this house yet and I didn't want this one to get away!) Did one of us inadvertently transport it in on our clothes? I was certain my eight-year-old is not yet capable of such a prank. I peered harder (notice, I didn't say closer), and it dawned on me that the dark little form was not a mouse, but a bat. Batman to the rescue! Rick put on leather gloves but still seemed loathe to grab it, so I slipped by its corner and got Brian's bug net out of the garage. With that Rick carried the now-obviously-alive-but-not-very-perky bat out onto the deck. He couldn't get it out of the net gently, so he just laid the net on the plastic table. I took a few pictures, then we watched from inside with the deck light on as the bat crawled out of the net, over the table, fell to the deck, then crawled from one end of the deck to the other. It was late so we finally headed to bed, although two questions still plagued me. How did it get inside? Why was it acting so lethargic? I'm really not one of those silly scaredy-cat girly-girls, but the possibility of rabies does come to mind. And it does have a rather scary face!
That's the latest oddball news from . . .
That's the latest oddball news from . . .
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14 comments:
OMG... I'd have died on spot. And once I saw those sharp pointy teeth, I'd have died again!
Looks like a little brown bat (actual species name is Myotis lucifugus). It could have been torpid, but I think it was a little too warm for that yesterday. They can get in through the smallest gap, like mice. I would keep an eye out - that didn't sound like "normal" behavior for a bat at nightfall...
I have a resident bat (probably the same kind) in my barn. I see it frequently in the evening at dusk when I have the light on in the barn - it's attracted to the bugs at the light. I always say hello, and wish it happy hunting!
Thanks, Laura. Rick found it this morning on the second step of the deck and took it in; I think he is going to have it tested. We often see bats flying in our barn at night like that; I welcome all bug-eaters! But I found that very still bat in our dark bedroom at 11 o'clock last night....
Girly-girl raising hand here.
I'm thankful our bats stick to outside. I do like to watch them at dusk as they swoop around outside. I'm glad you managed ot get it back outside safely.
Hey Michelle,
Hopefully it was just traumatized by 'however' it got in the house (maybe stuck in one area or something for a day or two) instead of being rabid or sick. I've heard they are very fragile creatures. I've had two in my house over the years, but they were VERY active. I'm the 'bat catcher' here at work (although I won't go up a ladder to get one!)because they generally don't give me the willies either. I work at a huge sprawling church and we have quite the resident population in the old part. When it gets hot they migrate towards the cooler newer parts (where WE are!).
Tammy
That's okay, Adrienne; I like you (a LOT) anyway! ;-)
I just talked to Rick and he's taking little bat to the Audobon Society in North Portland this afternoon. They will either rehab and release it, or determine that it needs testing.
When I worked in a church we had bats fairly regularly. They give me the creeps! I'd call the congregation's "bat catchers" to come and take care of them for me. One of the bat catchers was an 80+ year old woman who lived nearby. She would get the ones on the ground level. She'd just take a paper towel and scoop them up and take them outside. An older gentleman would get the ones that were way up high. We did catch and release, but they would just come right back in.
I don't mind the bats outside at night, in fact I even bought a bat house a couple weeks ago.
Great batty picture :-)
Wizz
If that were here, you could assume it was rabid. In fact, parts of Flag are now quarantined as baits are being put out for skunks, raccoons, and especially fox, to combat their potential for becoming rabid. All dogs and cats must be kept inside at night in those areas.
Glad you had a man with a thick glove to remove it for you. :)
Oh my! It looks more scared than scary.
I wanted to tell you too, that my question over how to call in the goats has apparently been solved. They have figured out that when I call, "here chickens, here chick, chick, chick," that there is probably food involved so they come running. ;)
I don't know, a mouse was in our house and our two cats were sitting there ... watching it! When I walked in, the cats walked away leaving me to deal with the little grey fella!!
Glad no one was bit by the bat. We found a mummified bat at work one day. No wonder the alarm kept going off at night!
What a FABULOUS last picture. I just had to biggify it to give myself a shiver. Do you ever Read Julie Zickefoose's blog? Bats aren't a thing to take lightly. Even their saliva (microscopic bits of it) can transfer rabies. I had no idea. I woke up last year with a bat inside the pages of the novel I'd been reading the night before! Julie went through a very big process with a bat they caught. Worth a read. www.juliezickefoose.blogspot.com/2010/03/big-brown-batgirl.html
As soon as my skin stops crawling, I'm going to tell you that I'm glad Rick caught that bat and took it somewhere that it can be watched. I would definitely be worried by that atypical behavior.
Back to freaking out now...
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