Staff at the Centre recently had a pleasant surprise when checking on the condition of a Big Brown Bat in recovery. As the enclosure was opened and staff reached for the recovering female bat, it was noticed that she had a rather large baby wrapped around her chest! The baby is surprisingly big weighing in at 3 grams. The normal weight of an adult Big Brown Bat is 17 grams. That equates to a human giving birth to about a 30lb baby!
How did this happen? Well, bats are one of approximately 100 species in the world that have what is known as delayed implantation. The bat is bred in the fall but holds the embryo in a dormant state until conditions are good and baby can grow. Mother and baby are doing well but the next challenge will be what to do with the baby if mother doesn’t fly again. We are consulting with leading bat specialists to develop a plan.