Saturday, February 22, 2014

Microbats in Da House

My poor Dynamic Daughter.  The Lovely Husband and I left her alone last night (she is 17) and went out to a show featuring a couple of old rockers - Brian Cadd and Glenn Shorrock. Fantastic show by the way.

Keep in mind I had already freaked the Dynamic Daughter out by telling her that when the termites are finished munching on the house they would come down and consume her flesh.  I know, I am mean but after appreciating the shocked look on her face I did recant that statement.  Poor child.

So here it is in the country, night time and my girl has to put the dogs outside to their kennels.  The Dynamic Daughter hates, hates, HATES toads.  Cane toads to be exact.  They come out at night and sit there with good posture, poisonous glands glistening in the drizzling rain, beady unblinking eyes.  The DD runs the gauntlet of these creatures, terrified they will touch her, or worse, attack her in an organised group and bring her down (not likely to happen).  Job done, DD can relax and 'work;' at her computer in her room.

What's that?  A small shadow flits across her wall in front of her.  Able to ignore it for a little while the DD finally discovers there is a blood sucking, disease ridden, huge as an albatross bat in her room.  (Actually it is a harmless little microbat).  Fear once again envelopes this poor defenseless teenager and when the bat flies out of her room, she locks her door and stays safe and isolated in the knowledge that bats cannot turn door knobs.

If we have taught our daughter one thing it is to face up to your challenges and/or fears, even when it involves terrifying wildlife.  I once left her here armed only with an extended Enyo mop to fight off a carpet snake that was in the habit of trying to eat the budgies.  Again she had that horrified look on her face but this time I was serious. Luckily no snake that day.  Back to the bat in the house, DD opens her door and all the external doors to allow the poor terrified creature to escape, which it does.  Able to breathe again she heads back to her room only to be 'swooped' by a second little bat.  I imagine her nerves are close to shot by now but her hero, Dr Watson (the cat) takes that albatross sized creature out of the air and kills it.  Poor thing.  DD wraps the little fellow in newspaper and puts it in the bin.

The Lovely Husband and I arrive home and DD is in a state of nervous excitement.  While telling us the story, a third microbat whizzes silently past our heads.  Oh how cute says I.  I don't believe it says DD.  Dr Watson is on the job again but I don't want the poor little fellow killed.  They are little, silent harmless creatures.  The microbats eat insects and probably poop insect bits everywhere so it has to go.  It does fly out a window which is subsequently closed but that window leads to a closed-in veranda.  There are lots of places to hide on this large veranda for a little trapped bat.  It would appear that tonight we could be witnessing the flight of the microbat once again.  Poor Dynamic Daughter, all this nature is too much for her.

http://backyardbuddies.net.au/mammals/tree-dwellers/microbats

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