"I have found a bat on the ground/injured bat/bat on the wall"
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"A bat is flying in the house"
Bats on the Wall
A bat on the wall is normal and should be left alone.
Bats on the ground
Bats will sometimes be found on the ground. Bats do not want to spend time around humans, so if you find a bat on the ground there are a few possible reasons.
1. Injured – the bat has an injury that prevents it from flying such as a broken wing.
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2. Dehydrated/ill – Sick bats will occasionally be found grounded. This could either be from dehydration or an illness if there is no obvious physical injury.
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3. Young or baby bat – Especially during the wet season when many bats are born, baby bats could either fall off their mother as she is flying or young bats still new to flying could ground themselves.
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4. Hunting – Some bat species will perch on surfaces such as walls/trees when they are about to start feeding or whilst they are feeding – although a lot of species will hunt insects in flight, others will wait on a surface for insects to fly past.
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What should you do ?
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Don’t touch the bat and don’t let dogs or children near it because of the risk of the bat biting in self-defence.
ABC request that you do not kill or further injure the bat - bats will not try to attack humans unless they feel threatened by being picked up.
same area that you found it.
If the bat looks healthy...
If the bat is on the ground or in an exposed position outdoors, put a glove on and try to pick the bat up or use a tea-towel and place it on a tree above head-height. Handle the bat gently as the wings are delicate, and try to ensure that the wings are pressed to their sides and not able to flap free as they could damage them easily.
If the bat looks injured...
Place the bat inside a cardboard box, use a glove or towel to pick up the bat.
Put a loosely crumpled tea towel/soft cloth for the bat to hide under/cling to and a small, shallow container (e.g. a plastic milk bottle top) with only a few drops of water.
Not enough for the bat to drown in.
Put the box somewhere quiet and dark at room temperature and check later.
If the bat is seemingly healthy, release it: place the box on its side somewhere about 2 metres from the ground or remove the bat (as before, with gloves) and place on a tree trunk.
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If the bat is in a safe place and not at risk from dogs or other animals (i.e. off the ground) leave the bat alone and return periodically (every 30 minutes) to check if the mother returns for it.
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Bats will generally only fly after dusk, but they are good climbers and will climb up a tree to be safe until night falls. If the bat will not grip the tree it could be dehydrated or injured.
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If the bat is young, it is likely to have been dropped by its mother whilst she was flying, or made an error in flight if it has only just started flying alone. Baby bats use vocalisations to communicate with their mother, and so there is a good chance that the mother will return to collect the baby.
If the bat is on the ground and at risk from animals or being stepped on, use a glove or tea-towel to carefully pick up the bat and place it on a high wall that is open above for the mother to fly down, within the same area that you found it.