Whisper of Hope

08/27/2026

💯

There is no such thing as too many bats.

🦇 Schreiber's long-fingered bat
📷 Ingo Arndt/Foto Natura/Minden Pictures

08/26/2026

As I moved my little crew of junior flyers from their enclosure to the flight enclosure, I thought you guys might like to play a game of “guess this bat’s weight”. It’s August, so our female Eastern Red bats have hit their hyperphagia stage where they can consume their weight in insects in one night to prepare for migration movements (not too much migration here but they can move from a maternity roost to a winter roost here) and the less dependable winter insects diet.

This fatty patty is my current largest girl (but not my largest this season) would you like to guess her weight in grams? Here’s a reference page with the expected weight of Eastern Red bats and some other cool facts:

https://www.nabatmonitoring.org/bats-we-monitor/eastern-red-bat



*As always, don’t handle bats with bare hands. We are all vaccinated and experienced handling these bats*

08/25/2026

💔

Oh, Dolly. We’ll miss you so, so much.

We probably don’t have to tell any of you about the impact that Dolly Parton had on humanity. You all probably know about the Imagination Library, and about her contributions to children’s healthcare, and about her charities that made East Tennessee go from being one of the most destitute regions of the U.S. to a thriving, educated community, even in the wake of wildfires and other natural disasters.

But what does this have to do with wildlife rescue? A lot, actually. One of our most successful wildlife rehabilitation and education programs, the American Eagle Foundation, is headquartered at Dollywood and largely funded by her generosity. AEF began rescuing eagles and other birds of prey when they were significantly endangered in 1990, and they had a hand in bringing these birds back from the brink. To this day, visitors to Pigeon Forge get to see our native Tennessean raptors up close and learn to appreciate and protect them.

In 2021, I visited Dollywood and noticed that the Daredevil Falls attraction in particular was covered in nandina, a highly invasive plant that is toxic to native birds. I sent an email about the landscaping, expecting it to be ignored, but got a response from the groundskeeper saying that conservation is an important part of their values as a company, and that they intended to replace their landscaping with more native plants. To my surprise, when I returned the next year, the nandina was gone and there were native plants sprawling across the property, feeding birds and butterflies. I’d never expect a theme park to actually care like that, but their values as a company were evidently more than just platitudes.

Please take a moment to remember Dolly by contributing to the Dollywood Foundation, The American Eagle Foundation, or the charity of your choice today. May we all aspire to leave just a fraction of the impact on the world that this one much-loved person made.

08/25/2026

Here are two photos comparing the different ways these little bats can hang out and enjoy their dinner. The first is a male Eastern Red Bat with both legs holding on, but his tail/patagium is half unfurled between his legs. The second is a male Seminole bat doing a little quirky one leg up around the side of this rolled up blanket with no hint of his furry “tail” at all.

08/24/2026

More flight training. They always love to fly right over our heads when we are in the flight cage, mostly just so they can p*e right on us and “mark their territory” I suppose. Being a bat rehabber is just rolling with all the times they decide to p*e on you…

08/22/2026

We have spent a lot of money on mealworms this month and still need a lot more in preparation for next month. We have a few needs related to rescue (the net) and mealworms (the supplements we feed our mealworms). If you would like to donate any of these items, we would appreciate the help. All can be shipped to P.O. Box 361 Lucedale, MS 39452.

Calsorb: https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/calsorb-calcium-supplement-gel-for-dogs-12-ml-2543690

Canine Complete: https://www.amazon.com/Organic-Dog-Vitamins-Pumpkin-Protein/dp/B0CKRBHQ8T/ref=abl_lv_ov_lig?colid=3L84CI6N5DBPM&coliid=I2SX1T06CO91W&rdc=1&sbo=RZvfv%2F%2FHxDF%2BO5021pAnSA%3D%3D&th=1

Missing Link: https://www.amazon.com/Missing-Link-Original-Superfood-Supplement/dp/B00061MRU4/ref=abl_lv_ov_lig?colid=3L84CI6N5DBPM&coliid=I2LRZEFIYWIQRW&sbo=RZvfv%2F%2FHxDF%2BO5021pAnSA%3D%3D

Net for rescue: https://www.amazon.com/RESTCLOUD-Insect-Butterfly-Handle-Extends/dp/B07JZ5LL7K/ref=abl_lv_ov_lig?colid=3L84CI6N5DBPM&coliid=I2F74K03X69VJ9&sbo=RZvfv%2F%2FHxDF%2BO5021pAnSA%3D%3D&th=1

If you purchase any of the above, would you please comment in the comments so others can know not to purchase? Thanks.

Donation links for mealworms:
cash.app/$bats2025
venmo

08/22/2026

This is one of our female Seminole bats having a very good time making laps in our flight cage. Thankfully, late afternoon showers have been creating lower temperatures in the early evening making it safer for the bats to spend more hours outside getting flight time.
Next year, we will need to look at making a new flight enclosure as the design of this one is trapping too much heat and our time of greatest need is the hottest time of year…

08/21/2026

Please welcome Handsome, a male Mexican Free-tailed bat to our little rehab crew!

He was enjoying a nice fly around his very populated bridge roost when he ended up with a dislocated wrist and was unable to fly. The wrist seems to be holding its position now although you can still see the swelling behind his thumbnail on the left. He will be on anti-inflammatory medication and the bat version of crate rest with close monitoring the next two days. If the positioning does not hold, he will end up with a wrapped wing and “bat burrito” wrap for further stabilization although we will try to avoid that for now as he has had enough stress in the last 2 days. Please say a little prayer that he will cooperate with resting and quickly learn the “mealworms are good” routine.

Free-tails have a really docile disposition in rehab but adults can be very reluctant to eat initially and it is definitely stressful to his rehabber and him.

08/21/2026

When you decide to help yourself to the whole tray of mealworms…

08/20/2026

We are attending the Southeastern Bat Diversity Bat Blitz in Hattiesburg, MS this week. Here are a few Big Brown bats checking us out overhead.