Animals in Nets (PG13)

This lovely red bat is one of several that Brandon and I captured on a recent bat survey job.  I love red bats. They are one of the most commom bats we catch, but they have such bright color and such fuzzy faces they are one of my favorites. Most people think of bats as dark and brown, but these bright orange bats are a bit more flashy.

If only they wouldn't bare their fangs so much so they would be easier to love.  Although, the vicious expression does make it easier to resist rubbing their adorable fuzzy faces on my cheek. They don't like that.

This is an evening bat. Not super commom, so still fun to catch. When I learned to tell the different bats apart, I was told that I would always know when I had a male evening bat because they have the biggest...um...well, they are, as they say, "well endowed".  Well, I didn't really think I would be able to tell a distinct difference in bat anatomy in that way so I didn't think much about it until I caught the first one. Ohhh...so thats what they mean.  Geeze.

This big guy is a Big Brown Bat.  Not a very exotic name for sure, but very descriptive.  Of the common bats that we catch regularly, big browns are the biggest.  And when I say big, I mean that, for example, this one weighed fifteen grams, which is about as much as two quarters and a nickle weigh.  Big is relative. 

I always decribe the nets we set up for bats to fly into as giant hair nets.  They are very hard to see, even if you know they are there, so we frequently catch other animals besides bats, which can add some excitement to the survey.  This is a southern flying squirrel.  It's very hard to see these guys unless you are out at night in the woods.  My first encounter with a flying squirrel was as a child, when one came in the outhouse one night.  That's a vulnerable feeling situation to learn that squirels can fly, believe me - but that's a different story.  This poor guy was minding his own buisness when he got caught in my net. 

As much as I struggle to post videos on this blog, due to my mostly luddite attitude, and because the computer secretly enjoys torturing me, this video is worth sharing, just so I can watch it and laugh when ever I want.  Poor Brandon is the filmographer, and I'm the one getting the flying squirrel out of the net.  Don't worry, my phone survived.  Make sure your sound is turned way up.  For some reason we are wispering even though I'm pretty sure the flying squirrel has realized we are there.