More than 2,000 beloved bridge bats rescued from freezing temperatures in Texas
While the bats can handle temperatures as low as 30 degrees, hours spent in temperatures of 26 degrees or less can lead to hypothermia, an expert says.
Houston Humane Society helps rescue bats from freezing temps in Texas
Texas is home to the largest known bat maternity colony in the world. Out of the 47 bat species in the U.S., Texas Park and Wildlife has identified 32 throughout the state, from San Antonio to Austin and Houston. Mary Warwick, wildlife director of the Houston Humane Society Wildlife Center, joins FOX Weather with more on how the cold weather is affecting the bats.
HOUSTON – Recent freezing temperatures in Houston have created hazardous conditions for the Mexican free-tailed bat, the official flying mammal of Texas.
The mammals serve the local ecosystem by eating pests, such as mosquitoes and moths, helping the state save crops and money that would have been spent on treating the pests.
However, many bats this week have suffered from hypothermia and died due to temperatures plummeting across the Lone Star State.
The Bridge Bats of Texas
FILE: Bats fly out from under a bridge in Texas.
(JEFF HAYNES / AFP / Getty Images)
The animals are vulnerable to the cold. According to Houston Humane Society Wildlife Center Wildlife Director Mary Warwick, the bats seek shelter by clinging onto the underside of bridges with their feet.
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That shelter only goes so far in freezing temperatures, as the bats have no thermal insulation to protect them from the cold, Warwick noted.
Houston Humane Society Wildlife Center employee Kelsey Malan, places frozen bats found under the Waugh Street Bridge in a container on Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024 in Houston.
(Elizabeth Conley / Houston Chronicle / FOX Weather)
While the bats can handle temperatures as low as 30 degrees, she said hours spent in temperatures of 26 degrees or less can lead to hypothermia.
"When they become hypothermic, they lose consciousness, and they drop out of the bridges," Warwick said.
Dropping from bridges can be fatal for the bats, as they may experience head trauma when they fall. Plus, for those that fall into the water below the bridge, they may drown since bats cannot swim.
Nursing the bats back to health
A Mexican free-tailed bat is held by a Houston Humane Society Wildlife Center employee on Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024 in Houston.
(Elizabeth Conley / Houston Chronicle / Getty Images)
Because of the dangerously cold weather, Warwick said she and her team at the wildlife center have brought between 2,300 and 2,500 bats in from the cold this week.
The bats undergo rehabilitation and are nursed back to health, with some given extra time in incubators to heal.
Warwick noted that her team plans on releasing the bats Sunday after low temperatures have risen above freezing.
The bat rescue team.
(Houston Humane Society Wildlife Center / FOX Weather)
This effort is not the first time Warwick has rescued bats. In 2022, she rescued about 1,600 bats from the cold by keeping them warm in her attic.