Baby bats often wander when left unattended, sometimes falling through small gaps in buildings and ending up away from the roosting site where they are found by people. In these situations a mother bat may respond to the calls of a baby bat as she emerges at dusk on the same day and it may therefore be possible to reunite the pup with its mother.
Upon collection or arrival into care, a baby bat should be checked for injuries or deformities. This is important to understand why the bat has been found away from the roost and whether a return to the roost will be possible.
Remember that juvenile bats (see diagram on page 10) which are just starting to fly and are still un-weaned will not be ready for independence and should be treated as babies.
Every attempt should be made to reunite a baby with its mother. Taking a baby bat into care should always be a last resort.
- The first action should always be to locate the roost site and ascertain whether bats are still present within the roost so that an attempt to reunite the bat with its mother can be made.
- A baby bat needs to be found by its mother to stand the best chance of surviving in the wild.
- If the roost site is not known and cannot be found, a release can be attempted from the place of finding.
- The bat may need to be taken into care temporarily if it is discovered during the daytime; the bat will need to be kept warm, rehydrated and possibly fed, depending on its condition.
- At dusk time the baby should be placed near to the roost site, to increase the chances of its mother being able to find it. This should be carried out by experienced individuals.
- Care should be taken not to disturb the roost whilst attempting to reunite the baby with its mother. Where there is a risk of disturbance to the roost a licensed bat worker may be required.
- It is important that the baby is kept warm throughout and is in an open container such as a cat litter tray into which the adult can fly, but which is too deep for the baby to escape from.
- Ensure the container is placed in a position that is retrievable if the exercise to reunite is unsuccessful.
- As the adult females emerge from the roost they will hear the baby bat calling and hopefully fly near enough to investigate. If successful the mother will pick up the bat and take it back into the roost. A bat detector is helpful for checking that the baby bat is still calling for its mother.
- A baby bat should never be left out overnight. If it isn’t collected during the emergence period and there is bat activity a second attempt can be made just before dawn or (more practically) just before emergence the next evening with the baby taken back into care and fed between attempts.
- Where possible very cold, windy or rainy evenings should be avoided as these conditions are less favourable to bats generally and a successful release is less likely in these conditions.
- Alternative methods to return the baby bat directly to the roost can be considered but require involvement of a licensed bat worker and additional knowledge of the roost.
- Where multiple babies are discovered from a roost this could suggest an underlying issue with the roost and advice from an experienced bat worker should be sought.