Winghand Bat Rehabilitation & Education

*Rehabilitation:
Helping our local injured, ill and orphaned bats return to the wild through hands-on care.

*Education:
Informing the public about the the worldwide role bats play in providing ecological and environmental services essential to a healthy planet earth.

Bats need to be valued for providing their vital services.

*Conflict Resolution:
Working with the public to safely resolve bat-related issues.
Striving to dispel the common misconceptions and myths that many people still have about bats.

Correcting erroneous information is essential for protecting and conserving the world's bats, including our backyard buddies.

Eastern small-footed bat (left). See our Species Page to learn about this bat and the eight other bats that call Connecticut their home.

Photo by Sean Stevens

My Story

I met my first bat when I was about five years old. It entered through an open window in our Brooklyn NY apartment. My mother believed all the myths about bats and she acted quickly.

Afraid more bats would enter, she slammed the window shut and slapped a newspaper on her head to prevent the bat from getting tangled in her hair. She was sure that the bat was going to attack her children, so she ordered my brothers and myself to "get under the table." She picked up a broom and started to swat away at the bat, but it managed to avoid her blows.

I realized that the bat was not attacking, it was being attacked. I decided to rescue it, so I crept out from under the table and opened the window. The bat flew out and I fell in love. From that day on, I made it my goal to learn everything I could about bats.

It was a long journey eventually leading to my bat conservation mission, a Connecticut DEEP Wildlife Caretaker license, and a Master Wildlife Conservationist Certificate.

Beneficial Bats

Fruit-eating bats

Many kinds of bats dine on fruit. When bats eat fruit, seeds drop onto the ground, take root, and new fruit trees grow. In fact, bats should be thanked for providing many of the fruits, nuts and spices found on supermarket shelves. Fruit eating bats also replant damaged rainforests through seed-dispersal. It is estimated that over 90 percent of rainforest is regenerated through natural seed-dispersal. Fruit bats use their keen eyesight to locate their juicy prey.

Insect-eating bats

All nine kinds of bats that live in Connecticut are insectivores. Insectivorous bats consume night-flying insects that spread diseases and destroy crops. Their remarkable echolocation skills enable them to "see with their ears" in total darkness, allowing them to target and zoom in on their prey. Insectivorous bats save U.S. farmers billions of dollars annually by providing safe, effective pest-control.

Pollinating bats

Using their keen eyesight and/or echolocation skills, nectivorous bats find night-blooming flowers and pollinate them in the same manner that hummingbirds pollinate day-blooming flowers. Many agricultural crops, nursery plants and other species of flowering plants, including cactus and agave, rely on bats for pollination. Agave is a major economic crop in the U.S. Southwest and Mexico.

Safety

Bats safely control harmful insects that spread disease and destroy crops, and they provide their services free of charge.

Quality & Quantity

Bats provide a quality service by consuming a great quantity of insects. Unlike pest-control companies, bats are non-toxic and you'll never get a bill.

Teamwork

Bats work as a team, each kind of bat performing unique services all over our land, from cities to forests, including your backyard.

Sustainability

Bats leave no footprints, carbon or otherwise, and they play a vital role ensuring the future of a healthy planet. Help bats and they'll help you.

Vision

Mission

My vision is to continue to build an organization that cares for bats in every way and ensures their future.

My mission is to return rehabilitated bats back to their natural environment, and to inform the public about the role bats play in sustaining a healthy planet.