Photo by Kathrine Heigan on Unsplash

This article was originally published in Russian on April 17, 2025, on Novaya Vkladka, a content partner of Global Voices. Global Voices translated the article, edited it for clarity, and is republishing it with permission from Novaya Vkladka. 

In early April, an unusual passenger was traveling by bus from Volgograd to Moscow — a bat. It was being transported for treatment at the Moscow Zoo. In Russia, dozens of animal-loving volunteers specialize in helping bats — creatures that are often misunderstood and essential for maintaining healthy ecosystems. Novaya Vkladka discovered how these volunteers arrange safe hibernation for bats and nurse them back to health in the spring.

At the beginning of April, Pavel, an auto mechanic from Volgograd, arrived at work and heard a squeak. He followed the sound and found a tiny bat under a fence.
The little creature had a damaged wing. Pavel visited several veterinary clinics in Volgograd, but none knew how to treat such an animal. However, volunteers from the Bird Island Wild Animal Rehabilitation Center responded. The center’s director, Arina Yerina, contacted colleagues at the Moscow Zoo, where there are bat rehabilitation specialists, and they agreed to accept the injured bat for treatment.

Pavel paid for the bat’s transportation to Moscow: a bus driver agreed to take the unusual passenger. At the Moscow Zoo, the bat was diagnosed with a fractured right forearm. It’s now undergoing rehabilitation, and its rescuer, Pavel, decided to become a volunteer at Volgograd’s Bird Island.

This is just one of many such stories unfolding across Russia. Around October each year, bats in this region prepare for winter hibernation by choosing a spot where they will remain for the next six months or so. However, sometimes they choose an unsuitable place to settle, and then when they wake up in April and May, they can injure themselves, making rescue necessary.

Problems also arise at the beginning of winter when bats hibernate, sometimes choosing over-exposed places, such as an apartment building entryway, a building facade, a balcony, or a ledge. In such cases, the bats need to be rescued and moved because they could die in the cold.

Volunteer guidelines for people who find bats remind everyone that the animals typically pose no danger and usually hiss and flap their wings out of fear. 

The Bat Rescue Center Batspas has been operating in Moscow since 2020. Its Telegram channel has nearly 3,000 members, including Muscovites and people from other regions seeking advice.

Bat assistance efforts aren’t limited to Moscow: there are similar communities in Volgograd, Samara, Voronezh, Rostov-on-Don, Ufa, Krasnodar, and Penza.
These groups are usually founded by concerned citizens, though there are exceptions. For instance, in Rostov-on-Don, a bat rehabilitation center was opened at Don State University, staffed by zoologists and veterinarians. Like other such communities, they provide advice on bat care and accept injured bats for treatment. In spring 2024, the center hosted its first graduation ceremony for their bat wards: staff released rehabilitated bats into the wild and held a masterclass on feeding and caring for bats.

Some communities help various animals at once: for example, in Ufa, volunteers rescue not only bats but also birds, squirrels, and hedgehogs. The Volgograd Wild Animal Rehabilitation Center primarily helps birds, but five years ago, they also started saving bats. In December 2024, volunteers helped seven bats settle into hibernation.

In Novosibirsk, environmental foundation specialists not only rehabilitate bats but also educate locals on how to feed them and where they spend the winter before being released. It turns out that after rehabilitation, bats wait for spring in refrigerators kept at a comfortable temperature of 3–5 degrees Celsius.

Some volunteers set up temporary shelters for bats at home. Olga Tarasova, a volunteer at the Bat Rehabilitation Center at the Moscow Zoo and a resident of Shakhty in the Rostov region, created a shelter for bats in her house. She has a dedicated room for them: alongside a refrigerator for hibernation, there’s a recreation area with hammocks and small houses. Most bats, after waking from hibernation, are released into the wild, but some, due to injuries, can no longer survive outside. Olga names these bats, and they even respond to her voice. She’s noticed that each bat has its own personality: she’s met affectionate, jealous, calm, and feisty ones. Some are even music lovers — according to Olga, classical music has a calming effect on certain bats.

According to the website of the Caucasian National Park, there are about 50 species of bats in Russia. All of them are listed in the Red Data Books. Interventions are increasingly needed to assist these animals as their usual habitats, old-growth forests and caves, are being disturbed and encroached upon by development. Bats also have low reproductive rates, and a female usually gives birth to only one offspring.

Bats settle in tree hollows, sometimes in human-made structures, and some species live in huge colonies in caves. Due to the lack of insects in winter, they go into hibernation. To do so, they seek out reliable shelters, primarily caves, where their body temperature drops to match the air temperature inside. They can sleep for 5–6 months. Despite their small size, bats have an average lifespan of 10–12 years or more, and some bats can live up to 40 years. Caucasian National Park, however, advises that bats may be carriers of rabies, and one needs to be careful around them.