Jesse the straw-coloured fruit bat was born on January 27, 2023 to mom Jessica who was one of our older bats in the colony. Jessica sustained an injury around the time of Jesse's birth and had to be humanely euthanized as a result.

The decision was made to hand-rear Jesse at 2 days of age, which required 24/7 care initially as he was being fed every 2 hours at the start. The African Rainforest Keeper Room was set up as a quarantine space for Jesse. The team had to assume all maternal duties including bathing, exercising, wrapping him, and stimulating urination/defecation. In addition, cleanliness and humidity control were very important for Jesse so the team was constantly monitoring and adjusting - while simulating the comfort of a mom and a colony.

Keepers worked closely with the Nutrition team to monitor what he was eating and how much; his weight was taken twice daily for several months.

Although he was accepting of us humans as his “mama” and was very comfortable with us, once we began his intro to the other bats, he was able to bond with his bat family and learn how to do “bat” things. By the time he met the entire colony, he knew how to hang properly (not use a hammock to rest as the case in the past) as well as learned how to fly and maneuver well while flying.

“He is fully aware he is a bat! I think this is an important point as that is the goal when hand-rearing! Jesse has been able to live up to his full potential as a bat.”

In addition to the African Rainforest team, many others were involved in this experience including Wildlife Nutrition, Strategic Communications even Maintenance- a big thank you to everyone who played a part in making Jesse’s story one of success while also changing public perception of bats as a whole!