BAT HOSPITAL FUNDRAISER OCT 2024

Two wonderful Healing Animals Organisation fundraiser walks took place in October and November to raise vital funds for the Bat Hospital in Sussex. HAO Diploma students raised a total of £1700. Thank you everyone for such a wonderful result from your sponsored walks, and of course to your generous sponsors. All your hard work has resulted in a fantastic achievement.

Such love and support from you all, both moral and financial, gives Amanda confidence she can continue to care for bats with the best food and equipment and to the best of her ability.

This year Amanda had in twice as many youngsters to rehabilitate and I am pleased to say that she achieved a 80% release rate. Some were too starved to survive, others had injuries and have joined her colony of permanent bats where she hopes they can have a fulfilling and near normal life, apart from the flying bit and not having to catch their own food. Amanda believes the problems were shortage of insects leading to starvation and unusual weather because of climate change. I feel sure, having met you all and seen what thoughtful and concerned people you all are, you will do all you can to encourage the former and reduce the latter, to help bats and all insect eating animals.

Amanda had this to say:-

“Thank you all so much for raising nearly £1,700 for the Bat Hospital, it was a lovely surprise.

I thought you might just like to hear of one or two of my latest batty adventures, in what has been a strange year. In the space of 10 days in late September I received 8 different species of bats. I don’t think I have had so many species in such a short time; I had two Daubenton’s which I can go for years without seeing, and a Nathusius’ Pipistrelle, also very uncommon but which looked like a vanishingly rare Kuhl’s pipistrelle until DNA testing of his droppings revealed he was a Nathusius’.  But the rarest was a Bechstein. She was found underweight/starving on a path in a nature reserve. She had a slightly swollen wrist which may have reduced her foraging ability. She was quite feisty and after a rest of nearly a month in captivity she was flying well and she was released late in October when the weather allowed.

Apart from the excitement of having such a young female rarity, I was also able to catch a really rare, species-specific, parasitic flightless fly, she was carrying. I had spotted it when she first came in and the Natural History Museum in London were desperate to have to carry out DNA testing on but it was very agile and I could not catch it! They don’t come up very often. Anyway after a fortnight keeping an eye out for it I managed to catch it and sent it straight off, alive, to the Natural History Museum. More excitement! She was released back where she was found, I hope just in time to learn where the best hibernation sites are from her peers.

Never a dull moment at the Bat Hospital!

Thanks again and love Amanda xx