Cute juvenile bat slurps smoothie. This bat is a hand raised orphan from Tolga Bat Hospital who is being support fed now he's released. His mum most likely died from tick paralysis like the majority of the orphans who come into care here.
The dominant bats guard the food supply so the littler bats don't get a fair go. We try to put the food out so no one bat can corner the market, but there are several dominant bats who take one side of the cage each. We hang food lower down the cage so the smaller bats get a chance. Eventually the colony will move on and these little ones will fly out and have to fend totally for themselves. We're not feeding every day now, so on the off days they have to find enough food for themselves. Gradually they'll stop coming back for the food - or they'll fly out with the colony, whichever happens first.
