The discovery of two distressed bats had three area residents scrambling one recent cold January weekend.

It started with a message sent Saturday, January 6, to our club Facebook page by worried Arnprior resident Eve Clouthier.

Karen Runtz did some research and messaged Eve back:

*[For those who haven’t read it, it’s a great story.]

Karen promised to let Eve know as soon as she heard back, noting that it being the weekend, callers are unable to reach either organization directly.

Two hours later she sent Eve an update:

 

In the meantime, Eve heard back from Rideau Valley which said they would take the bat if it could be brought to them or to the Ottawa Humane Society.

One hurdle conquered!

With Eve unable to make the drive, Karen put out the call for a driver via our Facebook page.

Update: Two bats seeking ride

That same evening Eve flagged that another Arnprior bat needed a ride.

Doug Smith had posted on the “What’s up Arnprior” forum:

Hoping someone out there might know how I can help this bat I just caught in my living room. I don’t like killing any creature. It’s so cold outside and this fellow got into our home somehow.

Yes, there were now two bats in need of help.

Doug detailed how he caught his bat:

The bats score a home run

Eve got her bat into a shoe box with lots of small air holes and both rescuers “batsat” their little brown mammals overnight.

On Sunday morning, Karen lined up a driver for early evening only to find out that the Ottawa Human Society would close at 4 p.m.

The search for a driver resumed. In readiness, Eve got her bat into a shoe box with lots of small air holes.

Thankfully, Doug was able to step up and drove both bats to Ottawa and reported back:

Doug confirms that they went from the Humane Society to the Rideau Valley Wildlife Sanctuary to join the “Almonte” bats.

[Note: All are Big Brown Bats.]