AUSTIN BAT REFUGE

Our team is led by veteran bat rehabilitators with more than 45 years of experience between them in helping the public with urban wildlife issues. Our current staff are the sole bat rehabilitators in the greater Austin area, and have lovingly cared for thousands of orphaned, injured, and displaced bats since our beginning in 2009. This service work safeguards human health while preventing needless cruelty to bats.

Austin Bat Refuge provides education to promote public appreciation and support for bats as vital members of local ecosystems and as fascinating members of the animal kingdom. Directors of Austin Bat Refuge are primary docents under the Congress Avenue Bridge, acquainting thousands of tourists with Austin’s famous colony every summer.

Austin Bat Refuge also provides educational talks at schools, community centers, clubs, non-profits, corporate events, etc. In addition, the organization reaches a wide audience through webinars with partners such as Texas Wildlife Association and Nepris, an online platform virtually connecting industry professionals with classrooms to engage and inspire students in STEAM.

Citizens frequently bring us bats that they and their children encounter in their daily activities. Each rescue is an educational opportunity, leveraged by social media, to promote compassion and respect for an animal frequently feared and reviled.

We work to resolve "bats in buildings" conflicts by means of consultation with building designers, owners, and occupants, and occasionally conduct low-cost exclusion services for financially-challenged people, when no other solution is feasible.