Clive

Clive the pallid bat came into care after being attacked by a cat. He had multiple bite wounds, tears in his wings, exposed bone, and infections. We treated his wounds and started him on a course of antibiotics but his prognosis for release wasn’t good. In order to avoid life threatening infections, vets at Avian and Exotic Animal Hospital and Prescott Animal Hospital performed an amputation of the affected fingertips. This resulted in a change to his wing shape which was determined to inhibit his ability to fly properly.

Clive was a great patient and stayed feisty and in good spirits despite several vet visits, daily medications, and wound care. When he was hand fed his mealworms, he liked to plop down on his rear and eat and even ate while sitting in his food dish. He made us laugh every day with his food antics and adorable ears.

Several weeks later, the tears in his wings and bite wounds had healed and he was still eating well and staying strong. Once he was healed up enough, we put him into our flight house to get some exercise. Even if a bat is non-flighted, they still benefit from being able to roam around in a large space. The flight house is equipped with sensitive night vision cameras so we can record and review what the bats get up to in there.

When we reviewed the video footage, we were shocked at what we saw. Clive was flying, and flying well! Even though he was missing parts of fingers and had scarring all over his wings he was flying like a champ. We shared this with other bat rehabilitators, and they were shocked as well. We gave Clive some time to get strong again and then took him back near where he was found and released him.

Bats are incredible healers and knit wounds very quickly. Even so, we were so surprised that Clive was able to recover well enough to be released. We hope you are flying free and eating well out there, Clive!

About Pallid Bats

Pallid bats, named for their fur color, are one of the larger bats in Arizona. They are easily identified by their light fur, giant ears, and pig-like snout. Pallid bats not only eat winged insects while flying, but they are also one of the only species that hunts on the ground. Along with winged insects, they also eat scorpions! They get stung repeatedly while hunting a scorpion but it doesn’t appear to bother them. They eat their prey on the ground or fly with it to eat at another location.

Pallid bats in captivity have a range of temperaments. Clive was a feisty bat who didn’t like being handled very much but he would calm down the second he saw his mealworms. Other Pallid bats that we have had in care, such as Halford, are very calm and easy to handle. From our experience, Pallids are either very feisty or very calm, with not much in-between.