“It was wonderful to see the camouflage of this beautiful species.”
Every morning, staff members at Pennsylvania Bat Rescue conduct a thorough check of the rescue’s large flight enclosure. Recently, on one of these routine walks, bat rescue personnel were stumped when they stumbled on what appeared to be a mushroom growing in the green grass.
Luckily, this was a visual trick the bat experts had faced before. Stooping down to get a better look, they found the culprit wasn’t a mushroom at all, but rather one of their rescue animals — an eastern red bat named Punkin Roll.
Rescuers were thrilled to witness the bat’s crafty disguise firsthand.
“It was wonderful to see the camouflage of this beautiful species not only work well in trees, but also on the ground,” Stephanie Stronsick, founder and executive director of the rescue, told The Dodo.
For context, here’s Punkin Roll next to an actual mushroom:
“Eastern red bats will occasionally roost on the ground, creating a nice little cozy spot to curl up in their tail ‘butt blanket’ and sleep until night,” Stronsick said. “They will glide to the ground, take refuge from predators and stay warm or cool under leaves, in grass or even create a small pocket where they can mostly hide.”
These days, Punkin Roll is back in the wild, spending his nights roosting among the deciduous trees he calls home.
Stronsick hopes that by sharing facts about bats like these, she can combat some of the negative stigma associated with the animals and help them get the care they need.
“Bats are often demonized as monsters of the night,” Stronsick said. “In reality, they are very small, vulnerable and timid animals. They need people to care about them, to help them and protect them.”
