My what big ears you have!

Baturday News is a weekly blog written by Rachael, a middle school student and Save Lucy volunteer. Rachael’s interest in bats was sparked by the big brown bats that used the outside of her former home for a winter roost. Her family cheerfully hosted the wild colony for years.

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a good week! Wasn’t Reggie’s video amazing? I can’t wait for the next one!

Some adorable Rafinesques big ear bats, by our friend Mylea Bayliss at Bat Conservation International.
Some adorable Rafinesques big ear bats, by our friend Mylea Bayliss at Bat Conservation International.

In the meantime, I read a really cool article. Some of you probably already saw it. I saw it on Save Lucy’s Facebook page. It is about how two rare bats were roosting in an old building in Virginia Beach. The building was about to be turned into a wildlife rehabilitation center. The bats are Rafinesque big-eared bats! The Rafinesque big-eared bat is listed as endangered, so it was really lucky that the bats were found. And it was especially awesome that they were found by wildlife rehabilitators. The rehabilitators are going to let the bats stay where they are. Then they are going to figure out a way to let the bats be happy while they roost, but let the people have their building too.

You can read the article here.

Reading about these bats got me thinking…I had never heard of the Rafinesque big-eared bat. So, I decided to do a little research on them.

Rafinesques big ear bats can curl their ears back! Courtesy USFWS
Rafinesques big ear bats can curl their ears back! Courtesy USFWS

They are adorable!!! You should see their ears! The really amazing thing is that these bats aren’t supposed to live in Virginia Beach! The map that I saw showing where these bats live showed that the bats are only found in three counties in southwestern Virginia. I think it’s awesome that they were found! I hope the people in Virginia Beach realize just how lucky they are.

 

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