Unexpected Houseguests Pt.2: A Bat on the Balcony

Hello everyone, and welcome back to Da Nang, a coastal city in central Viet Nam. Despite the city’s rapid development, Da Nang still has a wild side, full of native creatures still cohabitating amongst us in the urban sprawl. I don’t get out into nature as much as I’d like these days, so it is always (usually …sometimes) a treat when the local wildlife find their way to me. This of course doesn’t include the mosquitos, roaches, or ants, which are generally viewed as enemies in my house.

Mosquitos and roaches are an unfortunate reality in Southeast Asia, and I tend to approach their kind with swift hostility. The ants will sometimes get left alone, as long as they aren’t the bite-y ones or decide to stick around too long. I do have some positive feelings towards the ants, mostly when they stick to themselves and carry away stray crumbs or the occasional dead bug. There are multiple kinds of ants that are common to see here, and some are more invasive than others.

Today, I would like to share with you all a little visitor that is not so common to see, at least during the daytime. This is a rare spotting for me, as these guys are usually only out at night, flying around under the cover of darkness. After doing a bit of digging, my guess is this is an Asian House Bat (Scotophilus kuhlii). This species typically has a body length of around 5-6 cm, a wingspan up to 30cm, short ears, and a blunt nose. While trying to identify this bat I learned that Vietnam is a hotspot for bat biodiversity, with more than 120 known species, and with even more regularly discovered. I noticed many of the bat species had really unique and often weird ears and noses, so this guy's relatively basic short nose and ears made him easier to identify.

Many people are creeped out or even disgusted by bats, but I have always thought of them in a mostly-positive light. Yes, they can be a bit weird looking, dirty, or even possibly vampiric, but they eat annoying bugs like mosquitos, so they are okay in my book. Also, the way they use sound to see with echo-location is something I have been fascinated by since I was a kid.

Physically, the bat does not look good. I saw him move a little, but something is clearly wrong or he would likely be hanging around somewhere dark right now. Bats are one of those animals that I know are probably all around us, but we never really think about them. I wonder where the rest of his colony are sleeping, and if he will ever return to them. The lonely bat reminds me of a story I read when I was a kid about a bat that got separated from its family, I believe during a run in with some owls. We actually have owls in Da Nang, but they are even more elusive than the bats. I don’t think the injury this bat suffered was from a predator though, or he would likely have been eaten. Hopefully he can make a recovery, but it might take a miracle.

I hope you enjoyed reading about my unexpected encounter with Vietnamese wildlife.

All photos were taken by me. Have a wonderful day.