It was a
hot, dry desert day when a New Mexico lizard researcher came across a dust covered pallid
bat. The bat was lying on the ground, weak and dehydrated. Back at the research station,
the bat was given some water and a meal of crickets (a favorite food of pallid bats).
After the emaciated bat had eaten his fill he seemed to smile in gratitude.
The researcher named the bat “Orkin” due to his ability to eat just about any
kind of nasty bug. Intending to release bat, the researcher kept Orkin, feeding him his
fill of bugs until he was strong enough to fly again. However, on the night of his
release, Orkin continually bumped into walls during a practice flight inside the
researcher's cabin. Closer inspection revealed that Orkin was missing a key part of his
ear, called the tragus, a flap of skin in a bat's ear that is vital to echolocation and
foraging for insects. Without the necessary “tools” to do his job in the wild, Orkin could not survive. His injured ear was the reason he was found grounded and starving
in the first place.
 Orkin now lives at Bat World with a lady friend
(another pallid bat). He and his lady friend live in a miniature cave with over 50 other
non-releasable bats of various species. The cage sits inside a large, natural habitat
flight cage. During the day Orkin likes to snuggle and sleep with free-tailed bats (photo,
right). At night, he flies until his heart's content, then goes back to polish off
mealworms and crickets that fill dishes inside the cave.
Orkin has grown quite portly in his new life, and now seems to be smiling all the time.
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