We've gone batty for these cute pictures, which show tiny abandoned baby bats wrapped up in blankets, being fed from bottles.
Swathed in spotted and striped blankets, the fruit bats are being cared for at the Tolga Bat Hospital in Atherton, Australia.
About 300 bat pups are orphaned every year because their mother is ill and can't feed them or has died from tick paralysis.
Normally we associate bats with being blood-thirsty, but all these cute critters want to drink is some bottled milk.
These furry creatures are too injured to return to the wild and need to be nursed back to health.
The black flying animals can be seen sucking on bottles, while they are swaddled in colourful blankets.
The black flying animals can be seen sucking on bottles, while they are swaddled in colourful blankets.
The bats can also be seen bathing in the bathroom sink and even having their hair combed by workers at the hospital.
The Tolga Bat Hospital is a community group working for the conservation of bats and their natural habitat.
The volunteers care for bats who have come from hundreds of kilometres away in need for urgent care. And they also take in bats for sanctuary after they have been retired from zoos.
Volunteers at the hospital spend their time caring for the bats, nursing them back to health and then release them back into the wild when they are ready.
According to the Tolga Bat Hospital's website: 'caring for sick or young animals is like caring for sick or young humans, many tasks are very repetitive but your love and respect for the animals will make it very rewarding.'
Tick paralysis is killing hundreds of flying foxes in Australia each year.
During the 1990s, flying foxes were mysteriously dying on the Atherton Tableland.
Researchers found that tick paralysis was the problem, prohibiting bats from flying and therefore dooming them to a life on the ground.
Ticks rely on the weather to survive.
If they live during dry and humid weather, they feed on the bats and other mammals.
THE OBJECTIVES OF THE TOLGA BAT HOSPITAL
1. To rescue, rehabilitate and release all species of bats with a high standard of care, as well as provide a sanctuary for some of those who cannot be released.
2. Educate and raise awareness of issues affecting bats, involving (i) bat carers and volunteers(ii) the education community, teachers and students of all ages and disciplines. (iii) the public health, research, scientific and veterinary communities(iv) the general community
3. Actively seek partnerships in the community for all aspects of our work, networking with:(i) other community groups especially those with environmental aims(ii) public health, research, scientific, veterinary and education communities(iii) other local. national and international bat groups
4. Habitat protection. Negotiate with landowners to facilitate the repair and protection of bat habitat, especially the Tolga Scrub.
5. Research. Support ethical research into the general ecology of bats and their management.
6. Advocacy. Advocate for conservation values of bats and their habitat.
7. Recognising the rights and responsibilities of Volunteers. Implementing an increasingly safe and harmonious volunteering environment.8. Establishment of the Public Fund. To establish and maintain a public fund to be called the Tolga Bat Hospital Fund for the specific purpose of supporting the environmental objects/purposes of Tolga Bat Rescue and Research Inc.
Sometimes the hospital receives bats from hundreds of miles away that need urgent attention. They also care for bats who have been retired from zoos
The Tolga Bat Hospital is a community group working for the conservation of bats and their natural habitat.
The volunteers care for bats who have come from hundreds of kilometres away in need for urgent care. And they also take in bats for sanctuary after they have been retired from zoos.
Volunteers at the hospital spend their time caring for the bats, nursing them back to health and then release them back into the wild when they are ready.
According to the Tolga Bat Hospital's website: 'caring for sick or young animals is like caring for sick or young humans, many tasks are very repetitive but your love and respect for the animals will make it very rewarding.'
Tick paralysis is killing hundreds of flying foxes in Australia each year.
During the 1990s, flying foxes were mysteriously dying on the Atherton Tableland.
Researchers found that tick paralysis was the problem, prohibiting bats from flying and therefore dooming them to a life on the ground.
Ticks rely on the weather to survive.
If they live during dry and humid weather, they feed on the bats and other mammals.
THE OBJECTIVES OF THE TOLGA BAT HOSPITAL
1. To rescue, rehabilitate and release all species of bats with a high standard of care, as well as provide a sanctuary for some of those who cannot be released.
2. Educate and raise awareness of issues affecting bats, involving (i) bat carers and volunteers(ii) the education community, teachers and students of all ages and disciplines. (iii) the public health, research, scientific and veterinary communities(iv) the general community
3. Actively seek partnerships in the community for all aspects of our work, networking with:(i) other community groups especially those with environmental aims(ii) public health, research, scientific, veterinary and education communities(iii) other local. national and international bat groups
4. Habitat protection. Negotiate with landowners to facilitate the repair and protection of bat habitat, especially the Tolga Scrub.
5. Research. Support ethical research into the general ecology of bats and their management.
6. Advocacy. Advocate for conservation values of bats and their habitat.
7. Recognising the rights and responsibilities of Volunteers. Implementing an increasingly safe and harmonious volunteering environment.8. Establishment of the Public Fund. To establish and maintain a public fund to be called the Tolga Bat Hospital Fund for the specific purpose of supporting the environmental objects/purposes of Tolga Bat Rescue and Research Inc.
Sometimes the hospital receives bats from hundreds of miles away that need urgent attention. They also care for bats who have been retired from zoos
sm done
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