Warning. Extreme bat cuteness to follow. Those who think they don't like bats especially need to watch this.
In this little video, Mirabel is on her eighth large mealworm and she's getting full. Bats get this look on their face when they're satiated; they kind of settle back into themselves and that little pointed pink tongue lances out and they lick their chops. When the chop-licking starts, they're done.
I love this video because it really captures how sweet bats are, and it also captures their Marlena Dietrich-like need to be alone. They like darkness and seek it out. Prepare for the cuteness!
There is a very cool thing that happens in this video (aside from all the muzzlepuff licking) that I'm thrilled to have captured. I've noticed that when bats decide to change location, they literally turn on their radar. You can hear Mirabel do this when she raises her head and looks around at 1:35 in the video. Turn up the sound on your computer and listen for a low thrumming sound--that's Mirabel. I don't know if she's echolocating, but she's definitely sending out pulses, and it is most likely to help her orient as she crawls under the towel. Bats. What we don't know about them fills volumes.
Mirabel is by far the nicest bat I've cared for. She's quiet and docile and self-feeding; she doesn't cuss and gnash her teeth or musk me at all. She seems to know she's got it good, having been rescued from an inappropriate perch in a shopping center parking lot.
Here's the setup: a 20 gal. long tank with nonskid drawer liner taped to its sides. Fresh water and mealworms available at all times in low, bat-friendly bowls. After these photos were taken I had to tape every single gap in the drawer liner because Mirabel kept crawling in between the liner and the glass. You don't want them to be able to contact any glass at all, because they can break their fingertips if they beat their wings against it.
As you can see in the video, Mirabel is so tractable that I can let her rest on a towel while I service her tank. I have the ideal place to keep her: Charlie's aviary, which I keep closed with sliding glass doors, so there will be no bat escapes!
Creature love comes in many forms. It feels good to have someone to care for in that room again.
Soon, there would be another! Bats seem to come in twos. At least for me!
Soon, there would be another! Bats seem to come in twos. At least for me!
11 comments:
She is pretty ! I'm having trouble hearing her thrumming but the speakers on this laptop are dismal- Can you engineer the credits on your movie to roll slower ? I had to watch it 3 times to catch the worms credits : )
Wow, she looks much better, great job on your rehabilitation.
I. AM. IN. LOVE.
Love the lip smacking and munching noises. What a cutie!
Mealworms of the World, Unite!
Just because it's furry, and can fly, and does radar, and has adorable black eyes, and so forth, they're feeding us to it! The invertebrate 99% sacrificed again to the vertebrate 1%!!
Not Bat Cuteness, but Bad Cuteness, Extreme!!!
Thanks for the bat love.
OMG, Julie, you scored a Rancho Gordo calendar...! Your awesomeness knows no bounds [and the bat is indeed very cute]!
Chalk that one up to my ubercool older sister who gifted the family with five kinds of Rancho Gordo dried beans this Christmas. What fun to cook up and savor heretofore unknown beans. Cranberry, canneloni, some kinda cool bean that had a chocolatey taste and color...yum. I made lots of soups.
Daughter Rachel(who shares a birthday with Phoebe) says, not mealworms...bat cheetos!
"Someone to care for in that room again."
Revisiting special places with a new special someone always brings back the sweetest memories. Glad you have Mirabelle for that.
Julie she is so much plumper than she appeared in her first video , her coat has filled out and her eyes are brighter... :-)
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