Sask. Science Centre releases bats from shelter
Children screamed in horror when a bat wearing a glow stick on its back flew into the crowd.
A colony of 12 bats were released into the night sky during the Release the Bats event at the Saskatchewan Science Centre (SSC) on Thursday evening. Four bats found the weather too cold and will continue their stay at the SSC until temperatures warm up.
About 400 people attended the event.
Shelby Bohn, a graduate student from the University of Regina, said glow sticks were glued to the tiny mammals to allow the audience flight visibility. The glue was nontoxic and the lights fell off shortly after.
Bohn and Mark Brigham, a biology professor at the U of R, made presentations at the event. Both said their main goal is ensuring the health and safety of the bats.
“We always give them an assessment before (they are released) to make sure that they really are flight ready. If there were any that weren’t quite big enough or if they had a weird wing situation we would have held them back,” said Bohn.
The number of bats overwintering at the SSC has increased from two to 12 since 2014.
Brigham said he is thankful for the safe bat refuge. “The Science Centre is really helping us out in the winter time because a number of bats try to hibernate in buildings in Regina. Sometimes they pick bad places.”
Many attended the event for entertainment, and others to be educated.
Bree Groom, Regina resident, said she found an injured bat in the park last year. “I was in Wascana and everyone was just walking past the poor thing. I tried to save it, but it didn’t live. Now I’ll know better how to save one if it happens again,” said Groom.
Sheila Beaubien, public programs director at SSC, said she believes the event raised public awareness about the program.
“People must really be talking about the program. We have never had so many calls about bats,” said Beaubien.
Microchips were implanted into the bats for identification purposes.
Biology expert Shelby Bohn said the procedure is minimally invasive and is similar to microchips in pets.
“I think a thing to note is that we want to be able to tell the bats apart. Just to make sure that we’re not getting the same bats checking into the bat spa .... This is just a really nice unique opportunity to monitor them and make sure that everything is OK and they’re healing well,” she added.
Residents are encouraged to call the SSC if they find an injured or trapped bat. Trained workers pick up and transfer the animal to the lab for assessment.