HELP! I’ve found a bat

Here at South Lancashire bat group we have a network of carers which are ready and waiting to care for sick and injured bats…

What shall I do if I find an injured/grounded bat?

Please contact us immediately : Batline  0161 764 8850
When you call this number you will be asked to leave your name, contact number and a brief description of the reason for you call.

The Batline is manned by a team of trained volunteers who operate an answer phone service 7 days a week, every day of the year. The answer phone is on 24 hours a day, so please phone at any time if you have an emergency – if you leave a message, we will return your call! We aim to call you back as soon as possible (usually within a few hours) in order to give advice and arrange care for the bat if needed.

Outside of the South Lancashire area…

If you are not within the south lancashire area but have come across our page then please contact the Bat Conservation Trust on 0345 1300 228 who will be able to provide you information on carers that are closer to you.

What to do whilst you are waiting for a carer…

  • We always recommend wearing gloves* for handling any wild animal, including bats (you can also pick up the bat in a tea towel something similar instead).
    *Although it is a rare occurrence, it is possible for wild mammals, including bats, to carry rabies. Wearing gloves or similar will protect you from the potential risk of rabies.
  • Handle the bat as little as possible to avoid distressing the animal more than necessary.
  • The bat should be transferred to a secure box (old shoe boxes are ideal) with small air holes (if plastic) and some sort of material to provide crevices for it to hide in, such as kitchen towel. A small container of water, like a milk-bottle top, should be filled with water and placed in the box. Bats are far more likely to die of dehydration than starvation. There is no need to try to feed the bat, we’ll arrange that when we take it in.
  • Don’t be too concerned if it squeaks (sometimes quite a lot) this is simply a frightened animal trying to get you to leave it alone!
  • The box should be placed in a warm, undisturbed environment.
  • Exact details of where the bat was found are required for returning the bat to the wild when fit.

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