Bats!

Bats!

Posted on 18 Jul, 2008 12 comments

Bats are found anywhere in the world I think and we have hundreds of bat species. But my first encounter with a bat was when we first came to Australia. We had build ( handmade ) our own swimmingpool and as there used to be many bushflies in spring we had also build a flywire cage around this pool, with a little pergola inside it, so we could sit outside flyfree. I have mentioned before that it can get very hot there in summer and some evenings it was still hot and we used to go swimming before going to bed to start the night cool. My hubby always brought the torch along, as once a frog had jumped on his back whilst swimming, which had given him a fright, lol. Anyway this evening we shone the torch on the water and the waters edge again and in the corner of the pool, just above the water, sat, or rather hung, this darling little bat, holding on tightly with its claws onto the plastic liner. My husband went to get a glove whilst I kept an eye on it. When he had caught it in the palm of his hand, I had a little pat and stroke it gently. It was so soft, this ugly little creature feature, but at the same time so sweet. Anyway, we took it outside the cage and flung it in the air and it flapped away.
The first house we had was built from timber and asbestos with cavaty walls. It was quite an old place with gaps and crevaces everywhere and a whole “heard” of bats was living in between the wall next to the window in my daughters room. They squeeked and scratched all afternoon and even during the night, although you could see them fly out at dusk from underneath the eves. She didn’t mind the sound of them, she thought it was rather cosy. One of those hot summer nights we were lying on top of the sheets and suddenly zoof, zoof, something flew past us. I was wide awake at once, switched the light on and saw this bat flying around in the room, out to the passage and back again. By now my hero hubby also was awake and he had to catch it, for I was too scared it would wake up the children if it would go to their room. I closed their doors. Hubby got a towel and tried to chase it into a corner so he could grab it. No luck. Hmm, what to do next? It was too hot to leave all the bedroom doors closed all night, the bat had to go! A door in the hallway led to the toy cupboard where we each got a badminton racket. You can imagine the two of us standing there in the hallway, then in the bedroom, then in the hallway, each with a bat in our hands, trying to catch a bat! Too silly for words. But we were too serious in our mission to even smile about it. Finally we managed to get the bat between our two held up bads. But just as we came closer, it flapped again. You know, these creatures do not sit down unless totally exhausted. They will not hit you, nor will they hit the bat(minton racket) because of their radar system. It was a difficult situation. Meanwhile because of the racket ( different one this time ) we were making, two of the children got outof bed and had opened their door. Grrr. now the little bat was getting more space. But somehow it must have gotten tired and clamped onto the top of the window in our bedroom and we finally managed to grab it with a towel and so we took it outside. Pheww, “Back to bed kids”, I said. They all thought it was very exciting. They must have thought their parents were mad to play “bats” in the middle of the night! How had this bat managed to come inside? Very easy. Through the door. We always have a flyscreen door ( front door stays open in hot weather), which we go through often enough in the evening, so it must have come in with us, above our heads without us noticing. P.S. All windows have flyscreens on them as well.
When moving up North we had to deal with larger bats: the fruitbat. But I have never seen one, only the damage they do, plus pooing on the veranda, which was reddish brown, because they eat the berries of the Carpentaria and other palms.
Well, this was another wild life story from aussieland.

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