MONKTON, Vt. (WCAX) – Vermont’s only licensed bat rehabbers have been busy as early snow and sporadic warm days wake bats from their winter slumber.
Diana Butler’s home has quite a few guest rooms, but her visitors aren’t human and often arrive in boxes.
Butler’s newest guest, a big brown bat nicknamed “Royal Flush,” was found in a toilet in a downtown Burlington home.
Butler, a licensed bat rehabilitator, one of only three in Vermont, takes in bats people find. She says with the early snow and topsy-turvy temperatures, more bats have been waking up from their winter slumber. But waking up mid-winter can be fatal for the bats, so they are found and brought in before being released in the spring.
It’s mostly big brown bats that are found because they tend to snuggle up in small crevices. This time last year, Butler had fewer than 10 bats in her care, but this year that number has more than doubled.
“I’ve been trying to be in prep mode, you know? I thought I was ready for this season and uhh… sheer numbers. I’ve had to add another shelf, I’ve, you know, added more enclosures, I might be running the market on heating pads,” Butler said.
Helping to lessen the load of caring for these little guys before they’re released in spring is fellow newly licensed bat rehabilitator Spencer Rennerfeldt. “I’ve just always had a soft spot for bats,” Rennerfeldt said.
Before they started last year, the weight of bat rescue and rehabilitation fell on one man: Barry Genzlinger. He’s been working with bats since the early 90s and runs the nonprofit Vermont Bat Center. He says he’s relieved to have some help. “I’m getting old enough that I pushed hard for the last several years to get more rehabbers so I could retire from the active work,” Genzlinger said.
He’s stepped back a bit, but he’s still the one you’ll talk to if you call about a bat. “That’s my role now, get people comfortable with catching a bat if it’s flying around in their house, help them get it caught. Once it’s been caught, get the transport from that person to our rehabbers,” Genzlinger said.
Powered by donations and fueled by passion, this team of three tenderly cares for Vermont’s bats.
