Found little brown bat resting on a high chair at the balcony. Amelia was excited to see the little brown bat. This is her first time to see a bat so close. She took out her Children’s Animal Encyclopedia book to find out more about the bat.

Amelia learned that bats are the only mammals that can fly. There are about 1000 species of bats. A bat has powerful chest muscles which it uses to flap its wing. It steers by moving the bones in its fingers and legs to change the wing’s shape.

Another thing is a bat has large ears to collect sounds in the dark and to find its prey. This is called echolocation. A bat makes very high pitched sounds and these sounds hit an object and an echo comes back. From this, a bat can tell where and the size of the object by listening to the echo.

The bat found at the balcony is well known as a little brown bat. Normally, the bat actives during the night and sleeps during the day. It hangs upside down using its feet from the walls of caves, buildings and trees. This action is called roosting.

We contacted the RSPCA and The Bats Conservation Trust for help. They said a bat cannot fly from a flat surface and suspect the bat is injured. They advised putting a cloth and water in a bottle lid in a box for the bat. Do not touch the bat with bare hands.