We Found an Acrobat Bat!

It has been a very special day.  We saw something that we have never ever seen in our yard... a bat hanging upside down!  We call him our acrobat bat because he was hanging by one foot!

An Eastern Pipistrelle bat

I found the bat.  Mom and Dad were sitting on the deck when I smelled him.  


I went to take a closer look.  He was hanging upside down in a little tree.  He looked like a big cocoon hanging there.  When I touched him with my nose, he moved.  And I jumped!


Mom came over to see what it was.  She was very worried at first.  She was afraid that the bat had bitten me.  Bats can carry rabies.  But the bat didn't bite me.  He just opened up his wings and startled me.


Mom rushed into the house to get her camera.  She wanted to take some photos.  She was so excited!


We have been trying to find out what kind of bat he is.  He is very tiny.  We think that he is an Eastern Pipistrelle bat.  These bats are the smallest bat in the eastern United States.  


Dad measured the bat by putting a ruler close to him.  The bat was only about 3 inches long.  He was much bigger when he opened up his wings.


We have been learning a lot about bats today.  We discovered some very interesting things about them.  Bats are the only mammal that fly.  When they sleep, bats hang upside down.


Bats may look scary, but they are very helpful.  Most bats are insectivores.  That means that they eat lots of bugs.  We sure hope that our acro-bat stays around our house!

Just remember that you should NEVER pick up a bat.  He may bite you.  The bat also may have rabies.  Rabies is a very bad disease for both dogs and people!


If you would like to learn more about bats, we found some really wonderful activities for you.  Just click the links below:


Here are some bat fact sheet:

http://www.tpwmagazine.com/ktw/media/oct-08-issue2.pdf
http://www.azgfd.gov/i_e/ee/resources/wild_kids/bats46.pdf
http://www.batcon.org/pdfs/education/fof_bats101.pdf

These are bat puzzles:

http://www.batcon.org/pdfs/education/BCICrosswordPuzzle10.pdf

http://www.batcon.org/pdfs/education/crossworda.pdf

This is a fun book about Frankie the Free-tailed Bat, written by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department: 

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/pwdpubs/media/pwd_bk_w7000_1423.pdf


If you want bats in your area, you can build a bat house!  Just click below for instructions:
http://www.clydeswt.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=w6%2f1YJiJfhs%3d&tabid=85&language=en-GB