Over 100 frozen bats rescued from Houston bridge

The big freeze in Texas left a cold bat colony.

As temperatures dipped into the 20s overnight on Thursday, more than 100 bats froze in place under a bridge that has become a popular spot for bat-watching.

As a result, the Houston Humane Society rescued 138 frozen bats from the Waugh Street Bridge, according to KHOU11.

The nonprofit is rehabilitating the creatures after temperatures plummeted on Thursday. The organization is also working to protect the area from bats by adding rubber padding to cushion the animals’ falls and providing heated tubs for rescued people.

Luckily for winged mammals, the organization’s director, Mary Warwick, is an expert on bats. She told PKB 26 that 99% of the bats were moving and still seemed alive.

An estimated 250,000 Mexican free-tailed bats live on the Waugh Drive Bridge, located less than two miles from downtown Houston.