Bats have a pretty unfair reputation. They’re a neat bunch of animals, but pop culture decided they’re better off as Halloween decorations or bad omens. Either they’re swarming haunted houses, or they’re the alternate form of a vampire.
And all that has made the general public pretty iffy around bats. But the truth is that they’re incredible little animals and we should be thankful they’re here.
This is Eddie, a bat who was rescued by Rhiannon. Rhiannon, who goes by Rhi, is a bat rescuer in Australia.
Eddie was born premature and couldn’t even hold onto his mom. Bats typically have pretty developed muscles for the sake of flying, but they still need to start somewhere. Eddie was a frail little thing who wouldn’t have survived in the wild.
That’s when he came into the hands of Rhiannon – one of the few people in the Australia, and the world even, who cares about about bats this much.
Rhiannon doesn’t look at bats as vermin of bad omens. To her, bats are basically dogs with wings (and visually, they kinda are, aren’t they?).
She sees how beautiful and sweet bats can be when cared for.
Eddie was found on the pavement by some construction workers.
He was taken to a wildlife hospital first, then found his way into Rhiannon’s bat sanctuary afterwards.
How much do you know about the emotional range and intelligence of a bat? Not much? Well, I didn’t know a lot and neither did most people.
Bats are actually smarter and more emotive that you’d think.
They’re quite social and will recognize specific other bats based on things like scent and calls.
Rhiannon appreciates things about bats that most people would never notice.
For once, she’s grown fond of their “strong, musky” smell. She’s also taken a liking to how young bats flap their wings even when grounded to develop their muscles.
Eddie demonstrated just that for her. Male bats are also pretty chatty, according to her. It’s a dominance thing.
But this furry flyer’s gotta leave the nest someday, and Rhiannon knew she couldn’t stop that.
He stayed at the flight aviary for a couple weeks. Called a “soft release” aviary, the rescued bats could develop or regain their strength here before they choose to leave.
After 5 weeks of growing and capturing Rhiannon’s heart, Eddie finally flew off on his own.
Rhiannon doesn’t know where he went, but she’s glad he made it.
Most likely, Eddie joined the closest bat colony he ran into. He might never have gotten the chance if not for Rhiannon, who showed him way more care than any person would to a bat.
Not surprisingly, this was hard for Rhiannon. It’s always hard when she has to release a bat, but she seemed to be most fond of Eddie.
Closing on a somewhat bittersweet note, she said:
“Every time I see a bat flying out at nighttime, I wonder if it’s Eddie.”
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