Freezing temperatures from the winter storm are threatening wildlife in Texas, including the fastest and highest flying bat species on the planet.
Nearly 1,000 bats were rescued by the Houston Humane Society after falling from a small bridge in Pearland due to freezing temperatures, reported the Houston Chronicle on December 24. This was the second major rescue in the past week, following the discovery of over 130 bats found in a state of cold shock on the ground just below the Waugh Street Bridge in Houston.
Researcher Mary Warwick, the wildlife director at the Houston Humane Society, collected the cold-shocked bats in Pearland and Houston and brought them back to the society for recovery. All of them belong to the Mexican free-tailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis).
Warwick rescues the cold-shocked bats under the Waugh Street Bridge. (Video: AFP)
Mexican free-tailed bats prefer to roost in the crevices of bridges in Texas, but the frigid temperatures have left them stunned from hypothermia, causing them to fall to the ground below.
To help the cold-shocked bats recover, Warwick placed them inside warming boxes and supplemented heat. “After that, we provide hydration and start offering food after a few hours,” the researcher shared. Additionally, she placed rubber mats under the bridges to cushion the bats’ landing.
Bats being rehabilitated in warming boxes with supplemental heat. (Photo: Houston Humane Society)
Tadarida brasiliensis is the most common bat species in Houston, but Warwick is concerned that extreme weather events like this could force them to seek new roosting locations outside the city and migrate further south.
Mexican free-tailed bats typically measure 9 cm in length and weigh between 7 to 12 grams when fully grown, with females generally being slightly heavier than males due to the need to store fat for pregnancy.
With a maximum flight speed of 160.2 km/h, Tadarida brasiliensis holds the Guinness World Record as the fastest mammal. They are also the highest flying bat species in the world, reaching altitudes of about 3,300 meters.
