Bats may have a shady reputation as they are often associated with Halloween and other spooky things, but this does not mean we do not have to care for them. A bat specialist in Queensland, Australia recently rescued 28 juvenile Flying Fox bats from freezing in the winter cold. According to a story from The Dodo, the specialist came across the baby bats “just when they needed her most.”

Australian Geographic

This type of bat migrates to warmer climates during the winter months and this particular group of babies were unfortunately abandoned as the adults migrated. The birth of these young bats may have deviated from the communal roosting place as they were born in Queensland where winter can be extremely cold. Flying foxes usually give birth in warmer regions such as those in the north.

The Dodo reported: “On June 30, after they had fallen out of their tree in the cold, 28 bats were found and admitted to the Australian Zoo Wildlife Hospital. Their rescue quickly became an all-hand-on-deck effort by the hospital staff since the bats were suffering from hypothermia.”

Australian Geographic

The rescuer found most of the bats on the ground and  said they possibly “haven’t coped with the colder temperature in their mother’s absence and dropped from their tree roost.”

Upon their rescue, the bats were swaddled in warm blankets and given electrolytes to replenish lost liquids and nutrients. They were also given cute pacifiers as some were huddled in a basket.

Caters News

AOL reported that these bats will be cared for by the wildlife hospital staff until they are able to fend on their own. The hospital will eventually release them in the wild.