On a wing and a tear - bats healed with a little bit of TLC

New RSPCA study helps bats survive injuries
 

28.10.11

Certain bats rehabilitated by the RSPCA will be spreading their mended wings for Halloween next week after a new way of treating them has been discovered.

A bat carer based at one of our wildlife centres found that even the most dramatic of tears down the wing can heal themselves if the animal is given some tender loving care.

Replacing stitches and glue with some TLC

Veterinary nurse Sarah Goodwin from our Stapeley Grange Wildlife Centre in Cheshire said that the usual veterinary technique of stitching or gluing such tears together can cause issues with the bats removing stitches or glue when grooming.

She instead decided to care for bats which came into her care with wing injuries by:

• keeping them warm 
• giving them antibiotics 
• feeding them vitamin and mineral-rich food 
• restricting their flight 
• giving them time to rest and heal.

In nearly all cases she found that the wings healed back together of their own accord.

Sarah said:

I just couldn't believe how fast the wings grew back together. It was amazing.

All they needed was a bit of rest and care and their wing membranes healed all by themselves – ready for them to fly back safely into the wild.

 

About the 'Heal to Fly' project

The bats used in the 'Heal to Fly' project had been injured in various ways, including attacks from cats.

Out of the nine bats with severe wing tears admitted to the wildlife centre over the past year, five have been returned to the wild, and two died from other injuries.

The remaining two are still in the centre's care, but Sarah is hopeful that they can be returned to the wild soon.
 

On average it took around eight weeks for the healing process to work. Before they were released back to the wild, the bats were given increasing flight practise to build up their strength.

Since they were all adults, it is hoped their chances of survival back in nature are equivalent to those that have not been injured.

Sarah said:

They already knew how to fly before they were injured and would not have lost this skill despite their time in captivity.

We are all really excited by the results so far. They will have far-reaching consequences to the way we and other bat carers care for bats and will give bats with such injuries a second chance.

 

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More about our work for wildlife welfare

You can find out more about our wildlife rehabilitation work, including how we release the animals and track their survival with post-release monitoring, in our wildlife pages.

 

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