A Long-eared Bat at the door

With the rain come the critters - the 'wet' is my absolute favourite time of year (despite the need to do the lawns every four or five minutes). I enjoy the storms, the thundering rain - the drama of it all.

Because of the anticipation brought about by the later than usual onset of the wet, I'm enjoying this one even more. Bliss.

So over the weekend, in the rain, I was out snapping some frogs - when I managed to fall into the pool, (yes, yes - thank you for the round of applause).

Anyhoo, being a touch wetter than I'd intended, I squelched to the porch to towel off and who, to my great delight did I spy clinging to the insect screen on our sliding door? ...

Eastern Long-eared Bat (Nyctophilus bifax)

This handsome little chap, (I've done a post on these guys before so if ya wanna know a little more click the link above). I was so pleased, apparently I danced a little jig, but let's just keep that between ourselves shall we?.

errr, any chance of using that towel after you mate?

To be honest I was a little worried he might be crook but after watching for a while he seemed healthy enough, just a little damp. It also occurred to me that he may very well be digesting a large meal - he certainly looked well-fed and in the morning, he was gone ... let's hope he'll be back eh?

It just doesn't get much cuter than this, am I right? ... 'course I'm right.

Take Care

Recently there was something on the 'news' about Microbats carrying some sort of disease or another, I haven't bothered to look it up ... the world is health and food obsessed which is just about confusing enough - not that I'm saying you should dash out and lick a Bat - but you know, let's keep things in perspective eh?.

Here's something to consider - ALL animals can potentially carry diseases - but chances are the next time you're feeling a little poorly, it'll be because you sat next to a person, not an insectivorous bat.