Winter & spring
Nov 1 to May 31. Report any dead bat, and report winter bat activity, live bats flying or hibernating.
Report your sighting →Please help us report dead bats and rescue injured ones. What to do depends on whether the bat is injured but alive or dead, choose your situation below. Either way, keep children and pets away and never handle a bat with bare hands.
I found an injured bat
It needs help.
A visibly hurt bat, bleeding, a broken wing, or unable to move, needs a rehabilitator. Act quickly, but safely.
Contact a local rehabilitator if there is one near you, to see if they can help. Please also report the injured bat to one of our regional coordinators or via the online web form, take a photo and send it to us.
If you need to move the bat
- Wear thick gloves, long sleeves, and pants.
- Use a small trowel, dustpan, an old pillowcase, or a long thin stick, or use the cupping method.
- If a rehabilitator asks you to transport it, place the bat in a box or container with pencil-sized (or smaller) ventilation holes and a tight lid, bats can squeeze through a gap the size of a dime. Keep the box in a quiet, shady, secure spot outside while you wait. Do not feed the bat.
If the bat turns out to be dead, it may still be collected for testing, report it to us and we’ll provide next steps. Unsure what to do? Contact us directly.
I found a dead bat
Report it.
Dead bats may be collected as part of the province’s routine wildlife disease monitoring. But first, make sure it’s really dead, and not just in torpor.
- Online, via our reporting form.
- By phone: 1-855-922-2287, or your regional coordinator.
- By email: info@bcbats.ca, or your regional coordinator.
Dead, or in torpor?
Bats use torpor year-round to save energy, lowering their body temperature and metabolism until they appear dead. In reality they’re in a deep sleep. Observe the bat for a full minute:
- Can you see its chest or back rising and falling (breathing)?
- Gently touch it with a cloth or small stick, does it move?
- Gently tickle it and give it a minute to wake; watch for breathing or movement.
- If it doesn’t respond, use a stick or tool to gently turn it over.
- A bat that still doesn’t move and shows no breathing after a few minutes is dead.
If you’re confident the bat is dead, call the BC Community Bat Program or your local Fish & Wildlife office. Dead bats may be collected for the province’s routine wildlife disease monitoring.
When to report
Seasonal monitoring.
What we ask you to report shifts with the seasons. Whenever in doubt, send it, a photo helps.
Summer & fall
Report injured bats (attach a photo if you can), and report dead bats if you find more than two in the same area.
Report your sighting →