Mental Floss

This Australian Clinic for Orphaned Bats is Adorable

Rebecca OConnell

Bats are often seen as scary or creepy creatures of the night, commonly found in Halloween themed decorations, or haunted houses. Even the animal-loving Ace Ventura didn't like them. But bats aren’t scary—they’re downright adorable. 

The Australian Bat Clinic & Wildlife Trauma Centre, founded by American-born Terry Wimberle, aims to help these flying mammals, which can sometimes end up orphaned or in need of immediate care after being plagued with mites, suffering in extreme heat, or having run-ins with barbed wire, among other terrible things.  

Luckily for us, the center is very active on Facebook, and posts a plethora of bat photos for the public to enjoy. The images range from babies wrapped in blankets, to slightly older bats rocking some trendy vests.

Baby bats love to be held; they cling to their mothers, who then wrap their wings around them. Orphans lack the security of a winged embrace, so the clinic swaddles the babies. When bottle-fed, the tiny mammals look like furry infants.

All bats start with a steady diet of milk, but move on to insects or fruit, depending on the type of bat. Flying foxes—the largest type of bat in Australia—exclusively eat fruits like mango or melon. They chew the fruit until they’ve extracted all the juice, and then spit out the pulp. Here’s one bat really enjoying his mango:

The bat clinic is always looking for volunteers and donations, so check out their website if you would like to give your support.