Bats dive to the ground during Houston cold snap – saved by incubators
HOUSTON – Hundreds of bats lost their grip and plunged onto the sidewalk under a bridge in Houston after suffering hypothermic shock during the city’s recent cold spell, according to wildlife rescuers who rescued them administering fluids and keeping them warm in incubators.
Mexican free-tailed bats roosting at Houston’s Waugh Bridge were shocked when temperatures dipped below freezing last week, the Houston Humane Society said in a Facebook video.
The bats were rescued by responders administering fluids and keeping them warm in incubators.
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The bats are cared for at the Houston Humane Society TWRC Wildlife Center.
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The company’s Texas Wildlife Rehabilitation Center rescued hundreds of bats below the bridge, as well as another group of bats elsewhere in the Houston area that also suffered hypothermic shock, the center’s director said. , Mary Warwick. She said some were scavenging in kennels in the attic of her home. Nearly 700 of the approximately 1,500 rescued bats are expected to be released into the wild on Wednesday, she said.
The humane society is now working to raise funds for upgrades to the facilities which would include a bat room, Warwick added.
Mary Warwick is director of wildlife for the Houston Humane Society.
Mexican free-tailed bats huddle in an incubator as they recover from last week’s frost.
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“It would really help in those situations where we keep seeing these weird weather patterns coming out,” she said. “We could really use more space to rehabilitate bats.”