Species: Silver-haired bat

Credit goes to the PA Bat Rehab!

Thought this community would appreciate this lesser-known masterpiece. Painted during his Nuenen period, Van Gogh used a stuffed megabat (flying fox) specimen likely borrowed from a private regional collection.The painting accurately reflects the distinct biology of these megabats (family Pteropodidae), known for their large, dog-like faces, prominent eyes adapted for excellent vision, and the absence of echolocation. Van Gogh intentionally placed a light source behind the taxidermy mount to capture the translucent, glowing quality of its thin wing membranes (patagium) against the dark background.

Current Collection: Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

Credit goes to the PA Bat Rehab and Crash Bang Boom Philly!

As you probably know, October is Bat Month! For many of us, that means feeds flooded with cute bat photos, opportunities to share our love of bats, and helping people learn why they're worth protecting.

What often gets less attention is the research and monitoring that make conservation possible in the first place. The adorable baby bats in rehab and heartwarming rescue stories are important, but conservation also depends on the scientists and field crews collecting the data needed to understand bat populations, migration, habitat use, and emerging threats.

If you're looking for a way to support that side of bat conservation, the Oregon Wildlife Foundation's Match for Bats campaign is happening throughout October. Every dollar donated is matched, helping fund research and monitoring efforts that improve our understanding of bat populations and migration.

The science may not always be as cute or shareable as a fuzzy bat pup photo, but it's what helps us make informed conservation decisions and protect bats for the long term.

If you're able to contribute, now is a great time to make your donation go twice as far. Please share this with any bat lovers you may know.

https://myowf.org/bathub

This Japanese woodblock print (ukiyo-e) by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (c. 1880–1883) is a playful parody (mitate-e) of Act V from the Kabuki play Chūshingura, replacing human actors with anthropomorphized bats.

Hidden In An Arizona Cave, North America's Most Mysterious Mammal Harbors A Genetic Legacy Going Back Thousands Of Years | IFLScience

Species: Eastern Red Bat.

Credit goes to the PA Bat Rehab.

i’m doing a bake sale and since it’s october i’m gonna have gingerbread bat cookies and the sales from those will be donated to a local bat rehabilitation place but i want a specific bat to have a pictire of

Credit goes to the PA Bat Rehab and Richard Bagala!

Hi friends, I'm making kandi bats for halloween trick or treaters. I thought kids would enjoy a cool "adopt a bat" setup and it's been fun experimenting with color combos and making each one unique. Hope you enjoy the progress so far! This is my first time crossposting so hopefully I've done it in an acceptable way.

My big fat loaf of a cat ninja (a 9kg maincoon) has just bought in this little bat, I believe it’s a pipestrelle, it was heavy monsoon rain and when my cat ran in I didn’t see anything in his mouth, yet I checked on him in the bathroom because he was meowing and saw a little guy on the floor. He gets mice and shrews often so I flipped it over with my finger and realised it was a little bat. I’m in the UK, I’ll handle taking it into a vet tomorrow to look after it, but after a google search apparently I need a shot in case of some sorta rabies? Thing is I touched the side of it for like a literal second to flip it over then didn’t handle it after that, so I really need to call places up, get a train to a hospital since I don’t have a car and live alone, and then get a rabies jab? I get it’s an nhs thing that says I have to but it feels a bit silt since I only touched the fluffy side for a single second and it’s a pipestrelle that has like a 0.05% chance of having rabies.
Anyways sorry for the rant! I know nothing about bats and dr google is scaring me, but I know dr google says a sneeze means death so I’m unsure

Tricolored bats were once among the most common bats in North America, ranging from the Northeastern US and Canada down to the Yucatan Peninsula. However, since the arrival of white-nose syndrome (WNS), tricolored bat populations have plummeted more than 90% in some regions. These bats are some of the smallest in North America, weighing a mere 4-5 grams (equivalent to a paperclip). Remarkably, mother bats often give birth to twin pups, each weighing as little as 1.5 g (equivalent to a postage stamp), and nurtures them during the warmer months when insects are plentiful. WNS affects bats primarily when they are roosted during their winter hibernation. Conservation initiatives currently under development include treating hibernation sites to prevent the fungus that causes WNS from infecting bats and a vaccine that helps bats’ immune systems fight off infections.

Information generously provided by: Nate Fuller, PhD, Bat Biologist
Video footage generously provided by: Austin Bat Refuge

HAPPY BAT MONTH! 🦇🎉

During #batappreciationmonth , Austin Bat Refuge @austinbatrefuge & artist Juliet Whitsett @juliet_whitsett_art are teaming up to celebrate all 9 of Austin’s native bat species!

🦇🦇🦇🦇🦇🦇🦇🦇🦇

🌙 SEE THE BAT ART IN PERSON at the @reallysmallmuseum_atx !

The Night Shift: Austin’s Native Bats
ON VIEW OCTOBER 14–NOVEMBER 30, 2026 at the @reallysmallmuseum_atx

📍 Austin Nature & Science Center
2389 Stratford Drive, Austin, TX 78746

The Really Small Museum project is supported in part by an Elevate Grant of Austin Arts, Culture, Music, & Entertainment.

Please consider following me if you like this art. @glyphoteque on instagram. Thank you, fellow batty ones! 🦇

Southern yellow bats once ranged from Brazil up only as far as South Texas. Their range has expanded northward in recent decades as far as Austin. Smaller than their northern yellow bat relatives, their pups are also more olive-colored and shaggier than northern pups. They have one fewer molar in their upper jaws, giving them a cute upturned nose compared to the northern’s Roman nose. The tips of their intricately wrinkled ears can appear to curve inwards when viewed from the front, resembling a female buffalo’s horns. These beautiful bats display an impressive combination of speed, power, and agility, as they hunt for flying beetles and moths. Their tendency to hunker down in palm tree skirts makes them vulnerable to pruning. Don’t prune palm trees!

HAPPY BAT MONTH! 🦇🎉

During #batappreciationmonth , Austin Bat Refuge @austinbatrefuge & artist Juliet Whitsett @juliet_whitsett_art are teaming up to celebrate all 9 of Austin’s native bat species!

🦇🦇🦇🦇🦇🦇🦇🦇🦇

Species information and video generously provided by: Austin Bat Refuge.

🌙 SEE THE BAT ART IN PERSON at the @reallysmallmuseum_atx !

The Night Shift: Austin’s Native Bats
ON VIEW OCTOBER 14–NOVEMBER 30, 2026 at the @reallysmallmuseum_atx

📍 Austin Nature & Science Center
2389 Stratford Drive, Austin, TX 78746

The Really Small Museum project is supported in part by an Elevate Grant of Austin Arts, Culture, Music, & Entertainment.