Batty and Scar

Straw-colored Fruit Bats
Batty and his brother, Scar, were given to WBS by the Milwaukee County Zoo on September 6, 2006 when they were 2 years old. During their time at the zoo, they were not handled except for check-ups. Within a month, with the help of their favorite foods such as bananas and grapes, we were able to pick Batty and Scar up with bare hands. Today, they do not hesitate to climb their handlers and are often found hanging out on a WBS Naturalist underneath a jacket or shirt. Batty, however, seems to find underarms the coziest place to be. Batty has attended many programs and is always a hit. People are amazed when Batty comes out of his cage and climbs all over the Naturalist in search of a warm spot in which to snuggle. He is a bit more reserved than his brother, but does a great job of dispelling negative myths about these amazing creatures.Always the more confident of the brothers, there’s not much Scar wouldn’t do for a grape. It is very interesting to watch him when fruit is nearby. His nose twitches a mile a minute, his ears move like satellite dishes in different directions and he uses five appendages to climb to the source of the fruit. Yes five. The bats, of course, use both feet, but they also use a thumb on each wing and their mouths for locomotion. Scar demands attention at any program and is often described as awesome, amazing, unbelievable, any word to portray excitement at his presence.

 

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