AUSTIN, Texas — The past few winters have not been kind to the local bat population.
A winter storm three years ago killed at least 3,000 bats in Central Texas. During the most recent cold snap in January, at least 900 more bats died.
Austin Bat Refuge took in hundreds of bats in January and helped them recover. A month later, dozens still remain at the facility.
"These extreme cold snaps are too much for them. The temperatures got down to about 10 degrees back in January. We knew there was going to be fallout from the bridges," Austin Bat Refuge Manager Lee MacKenzie said.
MacKenzie said Austin Bat Refuge was able to help 300 surviving bats. A majority recovered and were released by the Congress Avenue Bridge, but about 30 Mexican free-tailed bats – which weigh roughly 12 grams and have a 13-inch wingspan – remain at the organization's facility.
"Some of bats subjected to the extreme cold lost control of the wings. They sustained nerved damage from the freeze, and it will take them a month or two to rewire their narrow pathways and control those wings once more," MacKenzie said.
He said the key to the bats' recovery is feeding them daily and letting them get rest. Patience is also important.
"Good – oh, that's great, spreading both wings. Now that's great, that's the first step," MacKenzie said while showing KVUE crews one of the recovering bats. "The next step is getting them synchronized and flapping them both at the same time and showing us what she can do."
The recovering bats will go for a flight test before they are released back into the wild.