Awwww, he's cute! He was probably flitting back and forth over the pool catching bugs and somehow fell in. It's a wonder he didn't drown. Glad you could save him. I wish I had them in MY garden, but I've never seen any here. Not even on a late summer evening, when they are often seen flying about! Thanks for sharing.

Marcia

CUTE???? Surely you jest! akkk

Afternoon Miss Marcia... :)

I love to sit out on the 2nd floor front porch just at dusk.
From there I watch the bats come out and fly up & down the street from the edge of my property down towards the canal, following the swale...lotsa good bugs hoverin' over the water there.
On a good night, I may even catch a glimpse of the ESO's as they silently flit from tree to tree, often landing on my banner pole.

Thanks for saving him (her?). I sure do love bats. They are so cool!

I especially like that they eat so many mosquitos!

Hey, Cindee, guess what? I love VAMPIRES, too! (Well, I don't do Goth or anything, but boy I love a good vampire story! hehehe) And I think bats are way cool. I've seen some cuter than this one, with a more mouse-like appearance, but I still like these guys. And my favorites are flying foxes, those great big ol' fruit bats that have such cute little fox-like faces.

Just call me BATTY!! (You won't be the first!)

Marcia

Way back when my DH and I were WOOFs (well off over forty) and DINKS (duel income no kids)we talked about leaving our money to Miami Metro Zoo for "The ***** Memorial Bat House."
It still makes me laugh...........
but then we had kids and went broke.

Lellie did you confuse your titles and your pictures?

My husband assures me that there are NO bats in our area WHATSOEVER because if there were, I'll sell this house for $50. and be out of here!!!!!

Sorry Barb but we've got bats all over Florida!
I like them too and appreciate the mosquitoes they consume. I haven't seen any in my neighborhood for the past 3 years and I miss them. Not sure why they left or where they went. Probably followed the bees...

Lellie, what are ESOs?

I never see bats flying around my yard, but I do see them in the park which is just one block away. Maybe they stay pretty close to their roosting place?

John

OK I love critters and even get a kick of seeing bats flitting over the yard at night, I am just having a hard time calling them cute.

Barb, not to worry, bats do not live in SW Florida these are Anna Maria Island Bats. They can't figure how to get off the Island because they are...well...blind as Bats!! ha ha ha ha ha

When I went back home years ago with my kids(5 & 7) my dad caught a bat, tie a string on his foot so My kids can play with him(certainly was NOT CUTE! I thought he looked davilish).
I was really unhappy about the whole thing, because he could had the ravies, I told my dad he has to let him go. So later dad caught a black bird, kids fed him & took care of him for nearly 2 months. Dad let him go before we left but he was hanging around dad's house for awhile and then he left for good after awhile.
Jan

Jan, I hate to be critical, but these things sound pretty cruel.

Barb, I hate to tell ya this, but I don't believe there is a single place in the continental U.S.A. that isn't home to one species of bat or another. And a darn good thing, too. You think mosquitoes are bad here now? If we didn't have bats, this state would be uninhabitable. They are absolutely critical for the environment, honest. And perfectly harmless, too. Don't worry. If you aren't looking real hard for them, you will probably never see them. They are tiny, fast, and quiet, mostly.

Marcia

Okay, just out of curiosity, I went researching bats and found that Florida is home to 13 different species. Some are here year round, and some are seasonal. At least three have longish tails like the one you found, Lellie, but I'm guessing yours might be a Brazilian free-tailed bat, which is Florida's most common bat species. It is the one most likely to roost in a bat house, and almost always roosts in man-made structures, like bridges, etc.

Here's a link with more info on this and the other twelve Florida bats.

Still wishing I had some here in my garden! I'd be sitting outside watching them in the evenings, too, Lellie. And the ESO's (Eastern screech owls) as well.

Marcia

Here is a link that might be useful: Florida's Bats

Solstice98, What's cruel? the comment about the bat looks like devil? or what my dad did to entertain my kids?
That's just my opinion about the bats regardless they are helpful to our eco system or environment. Everyone is entitled to opinions....good or bad.
I did not have control over what my father did, like catching a bat & a bird. That bird was loved by everyone and love lives in my kids memories even today.
I am sure my kids would have loved the bat just as much if I allowed them to let keep it but I was afraid they were going to get bit by the bat so I made my dad to let him go.
Sorry if I offened anyone who loves bats but that's just my opinion.

Jan, it is cruel what your dad did to entertain kids...You know, people will do bizarre things to entertain themselves or others. Some will think that setting a kitten on fire is entertainment.
A wild bird when trapped can die just from the stress and fear from being caught and handled. It is wildlife.
It is cruel, AND it is illegal

Anyone willing to give their children love and good memories...please, have them volunteer at a bird sanctuary, or a wild life rehab. Or foster a domestic animal...teaches kids to be responsible about animals and the world around them, and to appreciate the complexity and beauty of nature,without hurting anything

Cute bat..Thank you for the picture
Olya

Jan, I think it was just that many people don't like the idea of wild animals on a leash (string). I'm sure you wouldn't do that today, though, so maybe we can move on and enjoy the good parts about having bats in the garden?

In my research, I did note that ALL Florida bats are insectivorous...and that's a good thing, right? No vampire bats here to plague our livestock like they do in some parts of the world. And no fruit bats to decimate our groves and gardens.

For me, it will always be a miracle to see a mammal flying through the air with such speed and grace. Amazing creatures. Mice with wings.

Marcia

We're all a little batty here aren't we? LOL

I belong to the Florida Bat Conservancy and I'm sure if my kids knew, they'd question my sanity...hehehe!

Marcia's correct...we have 13 different bat species here with about 7 other species found at least once in Florida:

The northern long-eared myotis
Indiana myotis
Silver-haired bat
Cuban flower bat
Jamaican fruit-eating bat
Buffy flower bat
and the Cuban fig-eating bat

Cindeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee...if you think my little critter is scary...ck this out...IF YOU DARE!
HEHEHEHEHEHE.............

Here is a link that might be useful: Phylloderma stenops

Sorry Jan - I didn't mean to offend or to challenge you or your memory of your father.

I reacted because I don't even like to see dogs tied up, much less some wild creature. I'm sure your kids did enjoy it but would guess the bird and the bat were less enthralled with the experience. But this is not the right place for me to jump up on an animal rights platform, especially about something that happened so long ago.

I sincerely apologize.

Kate

So, Lellie...do you think your bat IS the Brazilian free-tailed bat? I'm really curious because I have so seldom seen a bat up close. (They really DON'T try to get in your hair, like the old superstitions imply. They fly fast and know to keep away from people.) In fact, I think the only bat I ever saw "in hand" was an injured one that the bird people at Audubon called a "little brown bat." That was a common name I don't think I noticed on the bat page, so don't know which one it really is.

I think it very interesting that no matter what the wing span is, our Florida bats are very, very tiny in the body. Most, if not all, under 3" long! Some no bigger bodied than a hummingibird. Strange how something so small can frighten or repulse so many people, especially when they are so busy eating mosquitoes and many other plant-damaging and people-annoying insects. This is another case where bad press has colored the perceptions of a truly marvelous little creature.

And if you want a cool experience, go visit the huge bat house at the University of Florida at dusk. Those bats come swooping out of there like gangbusters, ready to spend the night keeping the city free of annoying insects. Short of visiting the caverns out west, it is about as good as it gets for bat watching.

Marcia

Not sure what it is...but that's as good a guess as I can come up with.
Most others are a lighter brown to reddish-orange.
Now granted, this one was wet when I took the picture, but judging from the length of the tail, I think the ID you made is correct.
Will hafta ask the other members of the FBC.

Kate & others, I had my father release the bat right away so the bat was only tide for a short time and the baby bird (fell of it's nest) was never tied up, he was domesticated for a few months.
Any ways I think you all are over reacting to what I've posted. I am not sure if I dare to post anything anymore fearing maybe I am going to be judged by some people. I do appreciate and love all kinds of animals, insects and what not but that doesn't mean I think exactly like the way you all think. FYI this happened nearly 30 years ago in another country, not that really matters I guess.
Olya, please do not compare me to a person setting fire on a kitty for an entertainment. My father thought this was good idea, I did not.
Marcia, just to clarify, I have never tied wild bat or bird myself in my life or did I ever did anything to hurt another human or animals for that matter.
Kate, apology accepted.
Jan

Olya, please do not compare me to a person setting fire on a kitty for an entertainment
I am not. Did not intend to. Just generalizing and making examples, siting an article I read just recently on a case from Boston

I am glad we are all agreed that to tie up a wild creature is not a good idea. :)

Now, off to bats...I am learning a whole lot of interesting info on bats in Florida here!
Olya

I just need to point out the few cruel things that people do even in 2008. I am positive that some of you are guilty of doing it.

Putting live lobsters & crabs to cook & enjoy eating them.
Putting live CTF in the freezer because CTF eats native frogs. Poor things to be born as Lobsters, Crabs and CTF.

It's fine to be born a CTF if you are born in CUBA or the other islands where CTF's belong. It is not a fine thing to be born a CTF in Florida where you are wreaking havoc on our native animals. Sorry, but that's a whole different kettle of fish.

Jan, you normally won't find anything but friendship here, but sometimes different people react to certain issues in different ways. I didn't intend to accuse you of anything at all, as I understood immediately your story occurred at a different time and in a different place. I was merely saying that the thought of the string tied to the bat's foot was probably what bothered some people. It didn't bother me, per se, as I was sure this was not something you would be doing today.

But if you are insulted at the mention of a cat being set on fire (a truly horrible thing), I am also insulted that dispensing with CTF's is questioned as cruelty. What is cruel is allowing them to wipe out an entire species of native frog. If I could put them all on a boat and ship them back to where they came from, believe me, I would. I have no personal animosity towards them in their own environment. But since returning them to their rightful home is out of the question, the next best thing environmentally speaking, is to try to rid central Florida of as many of them as I can. I do NOT advocate putting them in the freezer. In fact, I just posted a whole thread on the subject, indicating that it is not a pain free way to dispense with them.

I have never boiled a live lobster or crab, but I do enjoy eating them as I am an omnivore, as all humans are by birth, whether they choose to change that later in life or not. But I am NOT a person who is cruel intentionally to any animal.

Now can we PLEASE continue to discuss this interesting creature, the bat, and its benefits to our gardens and our entire state. I'm really OVER the amount of arguments that have cropped up here, lately. Maybe something in the sky is in retrograde or the moon is in the 6th house instead of the 7th, or we are getting subliminal messages from advertisements, urging us to fight amongst ourselves. Whatever it is, I wish it were over, or I, for one, am going to drop out of GW. Not that my doing so will be a calamity, but I would hate to be put in that position.

Marcia

I am a bat lover too!! I got plans to make a bathouse at my local Extension office after attending a Nature at Night course at the Eco Oxbow center. There was a short but very informative class about bats in Florida and around the world. After we went outside with night vision goggles and bat detectors. The kids and I had a great time!
Stil waiting for my DH to make the bathouse, I should ease up on him though, he has dug many many holes for me this year.
Sharon

Post was moved to Conversations on 9/30. This is what happens if we don't play nice.

Sometimes we offend when we don't mean to.
Sometimes we react with passion.
Sometimes cultures clash and misunderstandings arise.
Sometimes the anonymity of the computer screen encourages us to say things in a way we would never say it in person.
When these things happen it's time to step back, say you are sorry, take a deep breath and move on. This forum and what we share here are too important to let shared opinions make us angry. There are a lot of us and we will not always agree, but we can be polite and caring when we do it.

Kate

jan1_2007 - Is English your native language ? If not , forgive me for being critical . Spelling and grammatical errors REALLY bug the heck out of me !
I suppose that comes from being an English as a Second Language teacher for adults .
I LOVE bats .
I LOVE snakes .
I LOVE spiders .
Any critter that eats mosquitos , mice , rats and other pests is a friend of mine .

Jan is a friend of mine. I've been to her house and there are no tied up birds, bats or anything else. SHe was speaking an incident that happened 30 plus yeas ago in Korea.

No, GatorMomx2, English is not her native language. She came here as an adult and now is fluent in both Korean and English. She speaks with practically no accent. As an ESOL teacher, you should appreciate how hard she had to work to learn a language that is completely different from her native language. She is called on by her pastor numerous times to translate business transactions for fellow Koreans who are not as facile at English.

I am amazed and disappointed at the attacks on our Hoya Queen.

You folks can have your critters, I'll take Jan any day of the week!!!!
Barb

The next person who says something snipey, whether in criticism or in defense, gets reported to iVillage.

If your comment isn't about bats or owls, don't put it here.

Let's move on.

Kate

Wow! I am almost afraid to post anything anymore, just hoping I don't make too many grammatical errors! I didn't know the English police monitored this. But here goes nothin': When I was a little girl, we lived in a big (for our community)house. We had mice in the basement especially in winter. One year a sweet little bat found it's way into our attic and eventually in our upstairs bedroom. I remember my Father putting it in a cage and we put fruit and meat in the cage because he didn't know what to feed it. We joked about "bats in our belfry". It was a great experience and taught us all to respect wildlife. We eventally called the Detroit Zoo and took it to them.
Kat

Glad you found a home for him, Kat. Wise move, I think, since he probably would have gotten very hungry without a supply of insects. I've never seen one inside before, I don't think, though I know it happens. I did have chimney swifts nest inside our chimney once, but no bats.

Lellie, did you get my email?

Marcia

Has anyone put up bat houses to entice them to stay in the area of your yard? I would like to be have heard they have to be at least 20 feet off the ground.

The bat house should be located at least ten foot above the ground. Bats have moved into lower roosts, but statistics indicate the higher the bat house is mounted, the greater the chance it will become occupied.
It could take up to two years for bats to find the house and some maintenance is required, make sure wasps have not moved in, the wood has not warped, etc.

Miss Marcia...email received...check yours. :)