Boy, 2, bitten by bat in his cot during night

[Still Waters]

A distraught mother has spoken of how her toddler’s screams woke her up after he was bitten by a bat in his cot.

Two-year-old Kian Mallinson was attacked by the flying nocturnal mammal in the middle of the night at his home in Hull.

Mum Jodie Smith was woken at 2am by the sound of Kian “crying and screaming” and pointing at the door.

However, Miss Smith initially did not know her song had been bitten until the next morning - when she discovered bite marks.

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/toddler-two-wakes-up-screaming-after-bat-bites-him-in-cot-in-the-middle-of-the-night-074509440.html

[Stiff]

That's my old home town and I'm still just down the road from there. There's tons of bats around. We get them quite a lot when it starts to get dark.

I'm surprised it's not been in the 'local' news rag as their usual articles are pretty mundane. 

[+susieice]

Poor little boy. I twice have had to call police to catch bats who got into my house. Thankfully no one was bitten. Good to hear he is recovering. 

[SHaYap]

1 hour ago, Stiff said:

That's my old home town and I'm still just down the road from there. There's tons of bats around. We get them quite a lot when it starts to get dark.

I'm surprised it's not been in the 'local' news rag as their usual articles are pretty mundane. 

Is it a bat that bit the kid though? What type of bats are they? 

Not really sure about bats biting anything as they're mostly nectar feeders as well as having insects as their main diet. The only bats that bites large mammals are the notorious vampire bats but their bites aren't something that most are aware of. 

I suspect that this is a rat and not a bat at all... 

~

 

[Still Waters]

35 minutes ago, third_eye said:

Is it a bat that bit the kid though? What type of bats are they? 

Not really sure about bats biting anything as they're mostly nectar feeders as well as having insects as their main diet. The only bats that bites large mammals are the notorious vampire bats but their bites aren't something that most are aware of. 

I suspect that this is a rat and not a bat at all... 

They caught it the article says, it was a pipistrelle bat.

https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/mammals/common-pipistrelle

Quote

Miss Smith and partner Jack Mallinson managed to catch the bat - that was later identified as a pipistrelle bat - and it died several hours later.

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/toddler-two-wakes-up-screaming-after-bat-bites-him-in-cot-in-the-middle-of-the-night-074509440.html

 

[SHaYap]

44 minutes ago, Still Waters said:

They caught it the article says, it was a pipistrelle bat.

https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/mammals/common-pipistrelle

 

That's what I found puzzling, I am familiar with it, tiny little b*****s, even if it were to chomp on anything, it would feel more like a nip than anything... 

ahhhhh well... 

~

[Stiff]

4 hours ago, third_eye said:

That's what I found puzzling, I am familiar with it, tiny little b*****s, even if it were to chomp on anything, it would feel more like a nip than anything... 

ahhhhh well... 

~

Yeah, I'm pretty surprised at it too. I remember bats being around since I was a kid in the 70's but this is the first time I've ever heard of anyone being bitten by one. The mother claims she saw it come from under the cover and then on the floor so it does seem that it was a bat and not a rat - although depending on what area of the town it was, a rat would seem the more obvious choice. There's tons of those around too!

[Gwynbleidd]

I'd hazard a guess that the poor little fellow didn't know what on earth was hurting him especially as he's only 2.  To make things worse, the poor little bat was probably frightened as hell not knowing how it ended up in a cot in a bedroom with the boy's little arms flailing about in amongst the cot sheets.  What an awful experience that must've been for both of them!  

[+susieice]

It's been awhile since I was swooped down on by a bat while I was sleeping but I can imagine they were both pretty scared. Here bats are protected by law so like I said, I called the police, who came with a net and caught it. Then they just take it out to a more rural area and release it.

[+susieice]

The primary zoonotic diseases associated with North American bats are rabies, histoplasmosis, salmonellosis, yersiniosis and external parasites.

In addition, people cannot get rabies from having contact with bat guano (feces), blood, or urine or from touching a bat on its fur (even though bats should never behandled). However, if you are bitten by a bat, or if saliva from a bat gets into your eyes, nose or mouth, seek medical attention immediately.

Bats can carry insects such as mites, fleas and bat bugs. These insects feed on all of the bat species found in Michigan, and are most frequently associated with bats that roost in colonies, such as the Big Brown Bat.

I don't want none of this so it's best to get rid of the bat. 

[Gwynbleidd]

Ooh Rabies.  That always sounds so scary to me.  I think we're one of the last Countries outside of the UK that don't have it here.  That said, we've got to be extremely strict on our borders to keep everything unsavoury out.   We have enough dangerous animals thankyou! 

[freetoroam]

Must have been a terrifying ordeal for both small species, but the bat must have been doubly terrified. Shame it "died" a few hours later, wonder why?

It seems this is one of those things which although very unusual, it can happen especially in an area where these tiny bats are common and when people leave their windows open.

https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/other-garden-wildlife/mammals/common-pipistrelle/