Personal - Bat Experience

Dear Blog,

Sorry for late post. Kind of busy these days.

As I walked on the pavement to look for my dinner and waited for my friend to arrive. I found a weird looking creature on the floor, Unlike those which I usually have seen like snails, bugs, leaves, frogs etc but this one was unusual. I found a bat laying on the floor, emit crickets' chirp sound. I worried it might be injured and it might bite me.

Then picked it with a stick and it just grabbed the stick, positioned itself then entered in resting mode. It didn't fly away, or I will say it doesn't even want to fly but rest.

I took it with me awhile and to observe its condition as bats are known to carry viruses and diseases (well, it's not their fault - they are immune to those), it looked healthy and managed to identify it as "Common Fruit Bat". That big eyes explain it doesn't rely on echo and its big nostril for smell - active at night, seeking for flowers and fruits. :)

Soft and furry sleeping beauty just doesn't seem ready to fly So I worry it might not able to fly or any other reasons. Therefore  I can't just leave it alone before the cats or other people might hurt it. I decided to keep it with me awhile and gave it a name, Bat-boy.

So I hold it with me walking in the shopping mall and lucky my black attire camouflaged it well, but I still have my worries that it might start to fly and fly inside the mall?! Oh God! Please let it sleep!!! 

After I met my friend and decided to visit someone somewhere, in the bus, bat-boy started to chirp and flapping its wings! Oh my God! I tried to hold it to prevent it to fly in the cabin, but that can't stop other passengers to check on me; thanks God they didn't stomp me. Bat-boy really a bad boy - It urined on my pant!!! My friend and I got down and I decided to let it fly but it doesn't fly well; it face-crash onto the walls and grounds. Oh my!

I decided to leave it under a tree, if it is destined to be with me then I will bring it home. God, please let it fly.

After two-three hours, we came back to check on it, and yeah... It was still there. Then I decided to bag it but it seemed to like that stick so much so back to plan A again.

Along the way, bat-boy stayed put its position, thanks goodness, until I reached home. I decided to leave it at my pitcher plants area, hopefully, tomorrow morning it will be gone.

I bet it must be hungry, I tried small bit of Apple but it showed no interest. Then j decided to try sweet drink - chrysanthemum tea with straw, it worked but only three/four rounds it decided to stop. I guess because the drink was too cold - fresh out from the fridge.

Then I realized something climbing on its body, some kind of spiders-looking, hmmmm oh my! It is a tick! Trying my best to remove it but it was not easy, they stubbornly buried themselves deep into its fur or climbed around to difficult spots.... I have no choice but to leave it there, I guess it is common to have a few ticks on the animals' bodies. 

By the way, my mother was not pleased to see me bringing animals back home, she does not care whatever reasons, generally she just does not like it and raging over it... Sad... That she doesn't understand...

Next morning before to work, I checked Bat boy was still there, It did not fly away... Headache... What made it worse is the ant-invasion on it!!!! Treat it like a dead bat, maybe because of the sweet drink which drew attention. Oh my! I transferred it to other places without ants and decided to call ACRES to pick the bat. My last shot with bat boy.

I also tried to feed it with Apple. I am so glad that it started eating and that ticks still there disturbing batboy. :(

When the ACRES team came down and inspected the bat, explained to me why it can't fly - it needed higher ground in order to fly. They also warned me to handle it with towel than barehanded due to parasites and diseases. Sigh... My last look at batboy eating the second pieces of Apple... So cute...

Good bye Batboy, thank you ACRES for taking of wild animals for 24 hours. For readers, next time if you found any wild animals, so call ACRES.

Jeff