In response to the comment that an individual bat can be hand fed by a caretaker in three-to-five minutes, I would like to point out that it takes at least 20 minutes for one bat to feed, whether that’s by hand feeding or by placing them in the pan to feed on their own. Even the bats that take worms readily from the hand or that pick up their own worm spend one minute, on average, to chew a single worm. Each bat consumed 10 to 12 worms per feeding, which means this took at least 10 to 12 minutes per feeding, and longer for the bats that didn’t take mealworms readily. After the feeding, the staff offered water and groomed each bat to make sure the food residue did not stick to their face or fur.

Talk about a coordinated agenda. I have not conversed with anyone but I can read. You state, “Kudos to the Smithsonian for taking the chance, and shame on all of the rehabbers (batworld.org, wingsofhope.org – your affiliations show when you scroll over your posted name!) who seem very quick to be critical but offer nothing of use, and seem to have a coordinated agenda to attack within hours of this news.” Mr. Sowders it appears you are supporting an organization (the Smithsonian) that has a 75% failure rate with an endangered species. You can call licensed, skilled rehabilitators and specialists all the names you want but you will never see that percentage of failure with them – ever. Expertise is not self-proclaimed; it is documented with credentials, tested and licensed. Contrary to your beliefs, rehabilitators train for years. It is not guess work that is used; it is learned knowledge that is applied. By condemning trained, licensed individuals who work the most with a particular species, you are condemning some very learned individuals who seek out the skill set of the rehabilitator (people like veterinarians, vet techs, biologists, zoologists, etc.) because those are the people who train with rehabbers because they cannot obtain that level of training anywhere else. Focus on the issue at hand and stop pointing fingers where they do not belong. Animals are dying because the Smithsonian refuses to utilize standard rehabilitation care procedures and they have not sought out the advice from any facility skilled in sustaining propagation colonies. Note: For you information, every 6 year old knows when you scroll over a name the properties appear. No one has to hide here but it appears a lot of folks are fighting to have their tax dollars directed towards saving a species instead of decimating it. To all of you who have written in due to your concern for endangered species – kudos to you for wanting the bats to be saved.

To set the record straight, several individuals with Bat World Sanctuary have attempted to go through the “proper channels” for over THREE MONTHS, to no avail. We have spent well over a hundred hours trying to help the CRC help theses bats, and have also worked to prevent this from going public and jeopardizing future projects. We were ignored by the staff of CRC, and USFWS continually ignored our advice while excepting excuse after excuse from CRC about why the bats were dying. This could have been so easily prevented. The thing to remember is that the right thing can STILL be done to save the remaining bats. And we have offered repeatedly to do just that. The ball is in their court now, we are waiting with open arms to accept those dying animals.

Whenever I’m stuck as to what to do if a problem comes up, they usually steer me in the right direction.

If this project were about Giant Pandas, would you have consulted Grizzly or Koala specialists when you had problems? I think not. So why didn’t you talk to the people who could have helped prevent this tragedy and make the project successful? Amanda Lollar at Bat World should have been your first phone call, followed by personal consultation with Leslie Sturges at Bat World NoVa.