The brilliant Isle of Wight Bat Hospital has a new visitor staying with them at the moment.
This little fella is a European Free Tailed Bat. He was found at a church garden in Dover Street, Ryde and is thought be to around four months old.
Theories on how it got here
Due to the wrinkling of its snout, the European Free Tailed Bat is often known as the ‘bulldog bat’ and the ‘mastiff bat’ and more commonly found in the Old World (ie. Asia, Africa and Europe).
OnTheWight spoke to Graham Street from the Isle of Wight Bat Hospital this morning.
Given that Spain is the closest the bat would normally get to our shores, we asked how he thought it’d landed on the Isle of Wight.
He has two theories:
- The little thing went out for a fly around at night and landed on a cruise ship that was making its way to the south of England. As the boats often arrive at night, it hopped off as it was passing Ryde.
- As it’s only four month old, his mother may have done the same thing as above, but in April or May this year, with the little fella may have been born here.
According to the Graham, the last European Free Tailed Bat to be found in this country was in 2003 in Cornwall.
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Staying for a while
The European Free Tailed Bat actually arrived ten days ago, but Graham has not been able to let anyone know until now. The Isle of Wight Bat Hospital was recently granted a quarantine license which means they’ll be able to keep the bat in quarantine for the next four months.
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Brand new quarters
Speaking to Graham this morning, OnTheWight learnt that he and Donna have made the decision to give up half of their dining room at home, so the little bat can stay on the Island and comply with the strict quarantine conditions.
Following guidance from Trading Standards and the Animal and Plant Health Agency they’ve built a room within the room, complete with double doors, spring-loaded closers and padlocks. Even with all of this, Graham is the only person authorised to enter the area to attend to the bat.
Special attention
Initial official suggestions were that the bat be taken to Heathrow to an official quarantine cage, but Graham and his wife were concerned at the level of care the bat would receive would be below that it would receive from them on the Island.
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Article edits
Extra details from Graham added.
Image: © Isle of Wight Bat Hospital
