If he hadn't flown around the corner at that very moment, I don't think I'd have ever seen him.
The creature was the size of a small bird, like a house wren, and at first, I thought that's just what it was. But its flight pattern seemed a bit off, like it had a wounded wing.
by Brett Campbell
It was just a quick glimpse as my wife and I walked down the hall from her office in the government building of the town and county where we live, and started to step into the large, two-story open atrium. My wife let out a startled cry and said, "What was that?"
After a quick discussion over whether it was a wounded bird or something else, she walked toward the back door, but I wanted to take a closer look, and -- if possible -- help get the creature out of the building. I stepped past the wall column I'd seen it duck behind and there it was, sitting on the floor against the full-length window -- a bat about 3.5 inches long.
I looked around for something to use to pick it up and my wife offered her wrap. I know better than to try to pick up a wild animal with my bare hands. I dropped the wrap over it and gently picked it up, holding just firmly enough that I could keep a hold on it if it struggled.
But it didn't. I uncovered its head and studied its face. Covered with black bristly hairs and dominated by a large pig-like snout, its round black eyes could hardly be seen. But its large pointed teeth certainly could be.
It moved its wings a bit and let out some high-pitched cries as my wife photographed it and I carried it outside.
On the back patio, I set it gently on a desktop and nudged it a bit when it didn't move. Then he scuttled across the desk and was off like a shot into the night sky.
I hope it remembers me fondly as it eats thousands of nuisance insects nightly and will return one day to offer me aid if I ever have to face the Joker, the Riddler or even the Penguin.
The flight-capable mammal I relocated I nicknamed Beisbol -- Spanish for "baseball," and pronounced virtually the same way -- and he was likely a small brown variety of bat, although this one was definitely black, except for the light-colored sand stuck to the fur of his face and back.
At least 15 types of bats call Mississippi home, and nine of those are considered endangered. The US Department of Agricuture estimates bats save farmers about $3.5 billion annually by reducing the damage from pest species of insects. If the number of bats in the state were to drastically decrease, the number of pest insects -- including mosquitos -- would increase drastically.
Nobody wants that.
Yes, bats have been the source of many viruses, including rabies, Ebola, Nipah, Hendra, Marburg, Influenza A and COVID-19. But they also do a lot of good for the environment.
So, as 2020 nears the end of its 12-month cycle that feels like 12 years instead, I am reminded that with the bad also comes good. It's the way of the world, and the way of all life. This year has held some terrible cards and dealt some terrible blows, but it has also seen new life and new blessings come our way.
So even in the midst of it all, I'm thankful to God -- for the big and small, the good and the bat.
Brett Campbell can be reached at ChunkyBrett@mail.com.
