8/25/2005 We are happy to report no patients in the Intensive Care Unit today.

Intensive Care Unit Patients "Putts" is a male free-tailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis). He is missing much of one wing and has an infection in one eye. I originally intended to euthanize "Putts" because he will never be able to be released. But when he found a tiny tray of blended mealworms in the temporary holding cage where I had placed him, he began gobbling up the mixture with such obvious pleasure that I allowed him to eat his fill. And when he struggled up in to my hand with a full tummy, yawned and then closed his eyes to snooze, I decided I would add one more bat to my captive colony. We have learned a lot about the reproduction and language of this bat species from my captive colony and the one maintained at Bat World in Mineral Wells. So "Putts" will help to contribute to our scientific knowledge in the future and find a warm, safe home at the Austin Bat Hospital while doing so. Meet a Few of Our Residents The Austin Bat Hospital helps bats on an emergency basis, but also provides long-term care for patients who cannot be released back into the wild due to the type of injury sustained. Some of our patients have been with us since 1993. Joshua, a little old man who came to me over 10 years ago, remains in the geriatric ward today, where he is provided with all the comforts an elderly gentleman needs. (See Joshua's biography below). Before After Old Newt has lived with me for many, many years now. He resides in the old folks home with several of his elderly buddies. He recently developed a hernia, but I was able to surgically repair it by sewing the body wall back together. Because one side of the opening was on his abdomen, and the other side was on his back, I had to sew back and forth under the wing to pull everything back together. His “privates” aren't exactly symmetrical anymore, but old Newt is now eating well and moving around without effort once again. Robbie is an evening bat (Nyctecius humeralis) that was retrieved from a trash dumpster in Houston when she was just a baby. A kind man brought her to Austin to be cared for. She is the sweetest little thing and loves the company of the Mexican free-tailed bats. Peaches is a gentle red bat (Lasiurus borealis) named after another wonderful red bat cared for by David Chapman in San Antonio. David is a fantastic artist and did a wonderful drawing of his red bat, Peaches. My “Peaches” came to the Austin Bat Hospital as an orphan in the summer of 2003. All the other red bat orphans learned to catch insects in the big flight cage that summer, but not Peaches. So she stays at the hospital now and waits for dinner to be served to her. Mandy is an eastern pipistrelle (Pipistrellus subflavus). She's not as sweet as Robbie and Peaches. She is a little tempermental and fusses a bit when she's handled. Penelope is a cave bat (Myotis velifer) that has lived at the hospital for many years. She had a broken wing that heeled, but she never flew well again after that. Joshua is Mexican free-tailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis) and an elderly gentlman who has lived with me for nearly 10 years now. Joshua is missing one wing, but lives with companions in a cage specially modified for the physically challenged. This little old guy is amazingly agile and a very vocal creature, yelling his head off if dinner is late. Important Notice! Do NOT touch, feed, or attempt to care for wild bats. Like other wild animals, some bats contract rabies. Only trained professionals who have been vaccinated against rabies should care for bats. Rabies information is available at: www.cdc.gov .