Bats in the Bridge: Amassing a Rescue Space for Bat Rehabitation and Rehabilitating the Houston Humane Society

It was a temporary recovery space for the flying mammals after they lost their grip and plunged to the pavement after going into hypothermic shock during the city’s recent cold snap.

After wildlife rescuers saved them by giving them fluids and keeping them warm, over 1,400 will be released back into their habitats on Wednesday.

The wildlife director at the Houston Humane Society said she had not heard about the plight of the bats during the cold spell when she was out shopping. She went to the bridge and saw many dead bats laying on the ground.

The bats were warm in the incubator and then hydration was given through fluids under their skin.

The humane society is trying to upgrade their facility so it can have a bat room. Next month, Warwick — the only person who rehabilitates bats in Houston — said the society’s entire animal rehabilitation team will be vaccinated against rabies and trained in bat rehabilitation as they prepare to move into a larger facility with a dedicated bat room.

“That would really help in these situations where we continue to see these strange weather patterns come through,” she said. “We could really use more space to rehabilitate the bats.”

The Buffalo Bats Return to their Colony under the Pearl and Fite Bridge a Day After the Eleventh Day of Hurricane Harvey

Houston reached unusually frigid temperatures last week as an Arctic blast pushed across much of the country. Blizzard conditions from that same storm system are blamed for more than 30 deaths in the Buffalo, New York-area.

Fortunately, the weather was just right for their release yesterday. The Human Society even set up a Facebook event to invite the public to watch the bats’ homecoming. Some 700 bats were brought back to their colony under Waugh Bridge Wednesday evening. More than half a million dollars were returned to a colony at the Pearland Fite Road Bridge.

The Mexican free-tailed bat is one of the most common bats in Texas, and is the state flying mammal. They migrate to North to give birth and raise their young in big colonies by early spring, when winters in Mexico usually end. The bats are usually in caves, but they will also make their home in bridges and tunnels.