bats.

Remember Lil' Drac, the adorable, orphaned baby bat that we met last month? His mother abandoned him and he was being raised by hand at the Bat World bat sanctuary. Here's a new video to update us all on Drac's progress. Watch Drac eat his first solid food, and learn to fly. Get a hanky ready or a box of Kleenex, because you're about to cry, you're about to laugh, and you're about to rush out to the pet store to see if they carry bats. A note from Bat World Sanctuary: We would like to get the message across that is is not a good idea to keep bats as pets. Many of the bats at our sanctuary are cast-aways from the exotic pet trade. Bats like Lil' Drac have a life-span of up to 20 years in ...

Luke Marsden / Newspix / Rex / Rex USA These baby bats in blankets are beyond cute, but they're also among the many animals affected by the massive flooding in Australia. The little guys pictured above are five of the 130 orphaned bats rescued by director Trish Wimberley and the other caretakers at the Australian Bat Clinic and Wildlife Trauma Centre. Saving These Babies Young bats are extremely susceptible during natural disasters such as floods because they feed on the ground, where they're vulnerable. Rescued baby bats are bottle-fed and kept hanging on clotheslines or in special intensive care units for four weeks or so, until they're ready to fly on their own. Wimberley emphasizes ...

by Cat Lincoln U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Northeast Region, Flickr If only it was a simple as calling Batman to come to the rescue. Something is killing the bats, but like the bees and colony collapse disorder, we don't know what is causing it. Called White Nose Syndrome because of the white fungus that grows in the muzzles of hibernating bats, WNS was first seen in New York state over the winter of 2006 and 2007. In addition to the symptoms of the white fungus, sick and dying bats are frequently emaciated and dehydrated. This past winter WNS was also seen in caves in Massachusetts, Vermont, and Connecticut. Since many bats from New Hampshire "winter" in caves in other states, ...