05/26/2026
**I WASN’T CRAWLING TOWARD YOU.**
**I WAS TRYING TO CLIMB BACK TO MY MOTHER.**
You found me on the porch floor.
Tiny.
Barely furred.
Folded in wings too big for my body.
Maybe I looked like a mouse.
Maybe I looked sick.
Maybe fear arrived before compassion did.
But I was not coming for you.
I had fallen.
Above me, somewhere under the eaves, behind the siding, in the attic gap, or inside the wall, there may have been a maternity roost.
A warm dark place full of mothers.
A place where babies cling before they can fly.
A place I was supposed to stay until my wings were ready.
But I slipped.
And once I was on the ground, the world became too big.
The wall was too high.
The sun was too hot.
The ants were too close.
The cat was too near.
And my mother might not find me unless I was close enough for her to reach.
Please do not touch me with bare hands.
Please do not feed me.
Please do not give me water.
Please do not try to raise me.
Keep children and pets away.
If you can do it safely, place a box or container over me and call a licensed wildlife rehabilitator or local animal control for instructions.
If I am a baby under a known roost, trained help may be able to attempt reunion.
If I am injured, cold, alone, or not retrieved after dusk, I need rescue.
I was not a monster on your floor.
I was a baby who fell out of the dark.
**Reality check:** Bats should never be handled with bare hands. A bat pup found on the ground may have fallen from a maternity roost and may need professional guidance. Do not feed, wash, treat, or attempt to raise a bat. Keep the animal contained or protected only if safe, keep people and pets away, and contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitator, wildlife clinic, or animal control.
**Sources:** Tufts Wildlife Clinic — found bat guidance; Wildlife Center of Virginia — bats as neighbors and bat pup rescue guidance; Bat Conservation International — bats in homes and buildings.
