A young Western Red Bat was found roosting at the San Rafael Police Department and brought to WildCare after her rescuers noticed that she looked ill and was not flying.
WildCare has seen its fair share of bats, but this young Western Red Bat in particular was a rarity – only the second instance recorded for us. She was found roosting at the San Rafael Police Department and brought to WildCare after her rescuers noticed that she looked ill and was not flying. Upon initial evaluation, it was clear that although underweight, she was an appropriately bright, alert, and defensive weaning-age juvenile. It was her flight stamina that most concerned our hospital team, as the bat opted for multiple breaks to lie flat on the ground; quite abnormal behavior for a young healthy Western Red Bat.
With this concern in mind, the decision was made for the young bat to spend some time in foster home care with our Assistant Director of Animal Care, Vanessa Potter, which provided her with safe and quiet space to help get her weight up and practice flight. This calm environment proved to be the best place for her, as after a short few days she was at a healthy weight and her flight stamina was where it should be for a strong bat. With a swift recovery behind her, she was successfully able to be released back into the wild.
Bats sometimes get a bad reputation, but these fascinating animals are nothing to be afraid of! They have some incredible adaptations that make them uniquely suited for life after dark. Echolocation is one of their coolest superpowers; navigating the night using a built-in biological sonar system. Contrary to popular belief, bats are not blind, and instead use echolocation as a compliment to their low-quality, light-sensitive vision. They vocalize high-frequency sounds that are imperceivable to the human ear, and listen for the echoes that bounce back from objects around them. By interpreting these echoes, bats can determine the location, distance, and even movement of objects as they fly. Their echolocation is so precise that some bats can locate and catch prey as thin as human hair!
This remarkable ability also makes bats valuable wildlife neighbors. Many of California’s local bat species are insectivores, meaning they feed on insects like moths, beetles, and mosquitoes. A single bat can eat hundreds of insects in a night, helping keep insect populations in check and ecosystems healthy. Most bat species in Martin need a cavity to roost, but Western Red Bats roost in dense foliage instead, curled up in branches and leaves, blending in so well they might look like a dead leaf, making for an incredible camouflage.
So the next time you see a bat swooping across the evening sky please remember: you’re watching one of nature’s most sophisticated navigators at work!
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FOUND A GROUNDED BAT? HERE’S WHAT TO DO
Despite common misconceptions, bats generally prefer to keep their distance from us. Of course, bats are still wild animals, and it’s important to admire them from a distance. Bats are also a rabies vector species, the only of our wild neighbors to test positive in Marin County in the last couple of decades. If you find an injured or resting bat on the ground, please do not touch them with your bare hands, and make sure to keep children and pets away. Call our Living with Wildlife Hotline at 415-456-7283 for guidance and next steps to help keep the bat, and you, safe.