I got to do the coolest thing Friday!!!

damzookeeper · 08-09-03, 03:26 PM

I was a work, working hard as usual, lol!!! and my boss started yelled down for us to stop the line and my partener on the line who is a guy to go take something outside for her.
We went to the back of the line (assembly line) and there she was standing over the wooden skids that were brought in from outside and there was the cutest little bat sleeping between the boards. lol.
My partener looked at it and just frose. So I jumped in and said "I'll take it out!" I scooped it up and she said "get it outside!" lol, whimpering little scardy cats. It was so darling!! It walked all over me and the minute I got it outside it headed for the first available tree. I hated to see it go.

Man I wish I would have had my camera. They are soooooooooo sweet up close! I would love one for a pet but my husband is scared of them too!! The big whimp! If they didn't have such a strick diet and were a bit easier to come by in captivity I would definately have one!!

RachelS. · 08-09-03, 03:29 PM

That's so awesome!!!! I love bats!

Dozer · 08-09-03, 04:05 PM

Bats are REALLY cute

Emily-Fisher · 08-09-03, 04:08 PM

That is so cool, Deb!! I too wish that you had your camera.. I would LOVE to hold a bat!

sSNAKESs.com · 08-09-03, 04:23 PM

Very cool!!!

I love the bat exhibit at the metro toronto zoo!! They are definatly one of my favorite animals!

*jealous*

Jungle Jen · 08-09-03, 04:27 PM

I'm jealous too! We have Little Brown Bats out here, and I have been lucky enough to be called on to help a few bats out of friends garden netting, or various places in thier home/yard. Definately a favorite of mine, they are absolutely fascinating creatures.

Kyle Walkinshaw · 08-09-03, 05:36 PM

Is it legal to keep bats as pets? and is there actually anyone who captive breeds bats?

damzookeeper · 08-09-03, 06:22 PM

I don't know if you would need a permit or what? But Paul and Sherri had some at Little Ray's. they were cute. I think they were fruit bats but I could be wrong, didn't see them the last time I visited though.
I have also heard of bat rescues, I think there is one in Ontario some where but not 100% possitive on that. I have always been fasinated by bats but never looked into keeping one as a pet because I didn't think I would be able to give it enough room.
The one I removed from the shop today was so cute and tiny.Probably about 3 inches long, I think it was an adult. It didn't look to bite but was very active. I loved the way it walked on me, I let it roam on me as I walked it outside so it didn't feel threatened.
Of course when I came back in I got all the bat myths and bad comments....
"You could have got rabbies if it bit you."
"I hate those things, they get caught in your hair and bite your head."
"Don't they suck your blood? That's gross!"
And my favorite comment of all, took all I had not to slap this person up the head!
"I would have just stomped on it if you wanted to get rid of it."
Stupid *** people I work with, I tell you. lol Under educated fools! And you need at least a high school diploma to work there, most of them must have gotten theirs out of a cracker jack box! lol

Removed_2815 · 08-09-03, 07:47 PM

I thought this would be a nice addition to this post. This Little Brown Bat (Myotis lucifugus) was found sleeping under some cover rock on an outcropping (typical Canada Shield area). Almost one out of every ten rocks would have a bat sleeping under it. One rock had two bats, a wasps nest, and three adult male five-lined skinks.....weird, it wasn't even a large rock.
Cheers,
Ryan M Bolton

Darlene · 08-09-03, 09:33 PM

Here in Nova Scotia they are semi-pets like Ricky the Raccoon. There is a big drive here this summer on controling the mosquito population; due to such things as the West Nile virus. One way they are promoting this is with 'bat houses'. They are a lot like little bird houses except they have to be placed 30 feet up ! They are meant to attract bats to eat the mosquitos as they eat thousands each night. The little guys are finally getting a bit of a good rep !!!

**Andy_G** · 08-09-03, 10:19 PM

Bats are neat!

eyespy · 08-10-03, 11:28 AM

How cool!! When my husband and I were first married we rented a little farmhouse in a tiny little town. There were a lot of bats that would come out just after sunset so we bought one of those bat houses to hang on the side of the house.

I just loved watching them swooping through the sky hunting their bugs!

TheRedDragon · 08-10-03, 04:03 PM

I absolutely LOVE bats, they are just adorable! If it weren't for the fact that I couldn't have one here (landlord wouldn't allow it), I would have had one a long time ago. I also love the fact that they get rid of pests, paticularly mosquitoes!

Mr.Lizard · 08-10-03, 06:52 PM

I had one for about a day,which I brought home from work after it was removed from a palm tree where it was sleeping.
I believed it to be a fruit bat at the time but it wouldn't eat any fruit for me so I released it the next evening.
A few years later the same kind of bat ended up on our door step(different house)and we called "The BATLADY"....a woman who was listed in the phone book who recovers bats.
I scooped it up into a box and waited for her to arrive....when she did,she removed the bat and it started biting her then it crawled up her shirt and headed for higher ground.
She told us she was fine because she keeps up on her rabies shots,which is why I wouldn't pick it up.
It was pretty cute though..kinda clumsy looking in the way it crawled up her shirt.

The species was a Seminole bat,which is an insectivore....no wonder it wouldn't accept my offering of fruits.

OttawaChris · 08-11-03, 09:31 AM

I tried to keep an orphaned baby once... but it only lasted 2 days before I lost it. I don't really pay bylaws much attention to be honest... being that they are made by stupid people that have no clue about any of the animals they are banning.