Happy Bat Week, ghouls and boys! Just in time for Halloween, it’s the bat’s time to shine. Contrary to popular belief, bats are not flying rats with wings. In fact, they’re not even related to rodents, so watch your battitude. They’re more like sky puppies.
You can’t own bats as pets, and you shouldn’t anyway because they’re better off in the wild, but there are plenty of bat sanctuaries helping to protect these beautiful batty babes at all costs. To celebrate Bat Week 2018, here are some of the most fangtastic bat accounts on Instagram. ?
Aussie Crazy Bat Lady (@aussiecrazybatlady)
Aussie Crazy Bat Lady helps nurse bats back to health, like little Buster after he got caught on barbed wire. Check her out to see what it looks like when baby bats get swaddled and bottle fed (spoiler alert: it’s adorable).
https://www.instagram.com/p/BjRl2ANHAUO/?taken-by=aussiecrazybatlady
Sarah’s Bats (@sarahsbats)
Sarah Curran is a licensed and vaccinated bat rescue volunteer in Sydney, Australia. Follow for lots of action videos, including bats slurping up glucose syrup, yawning, and more.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Boz65IeFBin/?taken-by=sarahsbats
Bat World Sanctuary (@batworldsanctuary)Â
Bat World Sanctuary is a non-profit accredited sanctuary in Texas, providing rescue, rehabilitation, and lifetime care for orphaned, injured, and abused bats. Look for posts about bats of every shape and size, including the albino red bat, Indian flying fox, hoary bats, Egyptian fruit bats, Mexican free-tailed bat, and so many more that I’ve never even heard of before.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BoZzNw_l_89/?taken-by=batworldsanctuary
Bats Queensland (@batsqld)
Bats Queensland is a volunteer organization and rescue center for flying foxes and microbats in South East Queensland, Australia. Follow for heartwarming rescue stories and adorable close-ups of little bat faces.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BjzFM82HeAu/?taken-by=batsqld
Bat Conservation International (@batconservationinternational)
Bat Conservation International works to conserve the world’s bat population and their habitats. They have members in more than 60 countries, with documentaries (The Secret World of Bats) and exhibits around the world. They post tons of content, including bat facts, funny captions, and even food and drink recipes for humans that somehow always manage to relate back to bats (like how human consumption of mezcal is good for bats, so drink up!).
https://www.instagram.com/p/BahJk_Fg5e2/?taken-by=batconservationinternational
Bristol Bat Rescue (@bristolbatrescue)
Bristol Bat Rescue helps with the conservation of British bat species with rescue, rehabilitation, and release—and they document it all so we can follow along. Follow for informative videos, such as what bats eat and how they can see in black and white.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BkOXlqbHiUg/?taken-by=bristolbatrescue
Teneale Hayes (@zeil_bat_lover)
Teneale Hayes is a vaccinated and licensed bat rescuer, helping injured bats after finding them caught in power lines, hit by cars, or falling out of trees. She’s also amazing at photographing bats in the wild. Bonus: Her rescue possum makes plenty of appearances as well.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BfCJmh-hAlC/?taken-by=zeil_bat_lover
Brum Bats (@brumbats)
The Birmingham and Black Country Bat Group (BrumBats for short) of Birmingham, UK conduct surveys for the urban bat project to help protect bats in the area. They document their night walks, take photos of each bat they study, and record the release process.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BmEwAjSHO2a/?taken-by=brumbats
Isle of Wight Bat Hospital (@iowbathospital)Â
Isle of Wight Bat Hospital is a non-profit volunteer organization in England. They provide 24/7 service collecting sick or injured bats. Check them out for detailed close-ups of little bats in recovery.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Be_RzAQnHa0/?taken-by=iowbathospital
