A furry friend was discovered in the basement of the Cheney International Center last Wednesday, September 4th. Coordinator of International Student & Scholar Services, Abby Lozano, discovered a bat in the offices by accident, hanging on a door she passed by on a walk down the halls.
“My first thought was, why would someone tape garbage on the door? Or black paper?” Lozano said. Soon realizing it was not paper, the staff were torn on what to do with the small bat.
“We have a lot of students on campus. If it has diseases we have got to be really careful.” Lozano said when told to put it outside. “So I went and found a box and I scooped him up in that… and he just sat on my desk while we tried to figure out who was going to come take a look at him.”
It was then that another staff member at the Cheney International Center, Maria Almendares, sent out an email on the faculty and staff Listserv, writing “We have a bat in a box. Anyone want to come take care of him?”
The email was forwarded to UW Bat Researcher at the Berry Biodiversity Center, Ellen Whittle, who gathered her bat-handling gloves and headed over to examine the bat. After taking it outside and giving it a good look over with the help of her associates, Beth Wommack from the Vertebrate Museum and Mason Lee from the Biodiversity Institute, Whittle determined it was an adult male Western Small-footed bat and it was healthy.
It was theorized that the bat was living in the steam tunnels near the basement utility room in the Cheney International Center, and the recent construction displaced him, leading him to hide inside the building.
“In fall it’s very common for bats to roost in odd places,” said Whittle.
The response from other staff and faculty who saw the email on the Listserv was immense, with many people adding to the thread wanting pictures and videos of the bat. Lozano and Almendares lovingly named their winged companion “Batrick”. The president’s office even used ChatGPT to create an image of a bat in a UW shirt and cowboy hat.
“I got probably 20 to 30 direct emails just asking questions and saying thank you for sharing,” Almendares said. “It gave people something to be happy about.”
While most responses were excited and intrigued, there were also a few people who were wary of the bat.
“It’s a really interesting and cute story, but we need to be cautious when finding a bat in the wrong place.” Myrna Miller, who works in the Veterinary Science department, said. “Of bats found inside, 2 out of 5 test positive for rabies. It’s important to handle any wildlife species with care and avoid human contact.”
The Cheney International Center has decided to partner with the Berry Biodiversity Center to conduct bat-watching and talk about bat varieties around the world, bridging the gap between their two departments.
“It would be fun to invite the campus community and Laramie community to come learn about the research that folks are doing in the Berry Center, but also see the cool stuff that’s right here on campus,” Lozano said.
Perfectly summing up the events, Megan Levin wrote on the Listserv, “Batrick is not the hero we asked for, but the hero we needed.”
