In the midst of a bone-chilling arctic blast that has gripped Houston, heroic wildlife rescue teams from the Houston Humane Society Wildlife Center are pulling off a remarkable feat. Over 1,000 bats, stunned and immobilized by the frigid temperatures, have been saved by the center's dedicated staff and volunteers. This large-scale bat exodus, primarily Mexican free-tailed bats, have been rescued from various locations across the Houston area, including famed bat haunts like the Waugh Bridge and Pearland, FOX 26 Houston reported.
As temperatures plummeted, the unexpected heroes began their rescues early Tuesday morning, with teams rifling through bridges under the dim glow of flashlights, scooping up the bats before dawn broke. According to a conversation with Mary Warwick, the wildlife director of the Houston Humane Society, bats are especially vulnerable to sudden temperature drops as they neither hibernate nor migrate, and thus are caught flat-footed by cold snaps—a bit of a hiccup for these nocturnal creatures, one could say. In an effort spanning across the city bounds, Houston Public Media shared that the teams covered areas ranging from Pearland to The Woodlands.
The rehabilitative process for these bats is nothing short of meticulous TLC at the Houston Humane Society Wildlife Center. "We have incubators, which we set at a very high temperature, so about 95 degrees. We’re keeping the humidity about 86% humidity because that’s the type of environment the bats thrive in," Tiffani Gallardo of the Houston Humane Society Wildlife Center told FOX 26 Houston. The plan is to warm these critters up, revive them with fluids, and have them winging back to their colonies by Thursday when the weather is forecast to be a more bat-friendly 70 degrees.
While the public's urge to help is strong, Warwick advised against untrained handling of the downed bats, emphasizing the need to wear gloves if touched by hands. Instead, the wildlife center advises residents to notify them via their hotline for any fallen bats. They reported having expanded their operation with more hands on deck, hoping to slash last year's fatality rate of 3% even further. The rescuers will keep the vigil going, expecting the bat falls to cease as temperatures head north of the freezing point. Warwick, leading the charge, stated, "Morally, I think we're obligated to assist them when they fall into this trouble," as Houston Public Media recounted.
