What do you do when a bat lands on you?

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Re: What do you do when a bat lands on you?

Postby Mark Sublette » Sep 7, 2009 2:08 am

I had an unusual experience on Saturday night while sitting high up in the stands at a Clemson University football game. Late in the fourth quarter, with a light drizzle which had been falling for ~an hour, I was sitting almost alone as many fans had already departed their seats when I felt something strike my left sleeve of my tee-shirt (not hard). Looking down, I was surprised to see that a brown bat had landed on my shirt and was just hanging there. I wasn't sure what to do with it, so I just let it stay as it was not actually bothering me in any way, and it appeared to have decided to take a rest... I suspect, but do not know, that it may have liked my body warmth (I have a high metabolism) and the rain may have chilled it a bit. I subsequently "wore" it out of the stadium and asked the first police officer I found what he thought I should do about it. (I had not touched it directly, having undergone the rabies series as a boy when a squirrel bit me...) and the officer gently shook it off my sleeve. It fell to the ground, and after a few moments, it flew away. I have never heard of a bat alighting on someone's clothes before, and certainly not "roosting" as this one did for more than a quarter hour, but I felt like it was kind of a good omen that a bat would find me a comfortable host to alight on. I submit this small bat encounter for what it is worth... :bat sticker:
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Re: What do you do when a bat lands on you?

Postby Squirrel Girl » Sep 7, 2009 4:36 am

Wow, interesting story. First off, squirrels almost never get rabies. Back then, it probably wasn't necessary for you to get those shots. They weren't the "bad" series in the stomach were they? It's been an awfully long time since they gave shots that way. Of course, maybe back then, there weren't enough historic records to know that squirrels almost never get rabies.

Hah, do be careful about taking medical advice from people on line. Most of us aren't medical doctors and don't want to get sued if we say the wrong thing!!!

It's impossible for you to get rabies from a bat perching on you. You have to have exchange of saliva or neural tissue. The big problem with bats is that there have been a scant few cases of people that appear to have gotten rabies when they were bitten, unbeknownst to them. If you're asleep and wake up and there's a bat in the room, you may have to be concerned.

So, is that vague enough to CMA, yet provide you any useful info?
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Re: What do you do when a bat lands on you?

Postby FW » Sep 7, 2009 7:47 am

I am impressed the police officer didn't kill it! A lot of them would have.
Any opinions are personal.
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Re: What do you do when a bat lands on you?

Postby BSnyder » Sep 7, 2009 4:43 pm

A couple of years ago on the way home after a SERA, three of us from our grotto stopped at a small cave in Tn. We rapelled a short drop onto a small landing, the only dry area to stand in the stream cave. As my buddy and I started downstream he was in the lead and as he turned the first corner encountered a fair sized group of bats that disagreed with our being in their cave. As they started flying toward the bottom of the pit to ascend out they were all around us. We both turned away to place our backs to the roost, crouched down, and covered our faces with our gloved hands. We could feel them hitting our backs and helmets as they tried to fly through the small passage. As some hit, they would fall into the stream beside and behind us. The next thing I knew, I felt a bat crawling up my leg! One of the bats had fallen into the water and then climbed out on me - unfortunately it was inside the cave suit leg, but at least I had on polypros. I lifted the leg, gave it a good shake, and the little bat fell out into the water. Needless to say I was done with that cave for that day!
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