2024 Annual Report - Flipbook - Page 13
Addison McCool
Addison McCool
Travis joined us from Houston, early in the year, aver falling from his roost on a
par}cularly cold day. While Mexican free-tails typically migrate to Mexico every
winter, in some areas of the U.S. they are only gone for a month or two. Some
colonies further south don’t migrate at all. Travis was a part of an urban colony
that roosted beneath a bridge and stayed over the winter, but this year a sudden
cold snap lev the bats under the bridge exposed and in peril.
Travis, along with many of his roost-mates, went into torpor because of the low
temperature. Torpor is a semi-hiberna}on that helps an animal conserve energy
during cold temperatures. However, torpor only works in above-freezing temperatures. In this case, when sub-freezing temperatures hit, the bats in torpor went
crashing to the pavement below. Over 200 cold stunned bats were collected and
taken into care.
Addison McCool
The majority were in good shape and could be released once the weather
warmed, but Travis, along with a few friends, needed addi}onal care as they displayed neurological symptoms, likely from hi琀�ng their heads on the concrete
when they fell. Travis quickly became a sta昀昀 favorite, as his enthusiasm for mealworms was unmatched. At each feeding, Travis is always the 昀椀rst in line, oven
crawling into a caregiver’s hand to be fed. Travis su昀昀ers from balance issues that
alter his 昀氀ight ability, so he is a permanent resident at Bat World Sanctuary. He is
hand-fed twice daily, to his heart’s delight.
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