Baturday News is a weekly blog written by Rachael, a soon-to-be high school student and Save Lucy volunteer. Rachael’s interest in bats was sparked by the big brown bats that used the outside of her former home for a winter roost. Rachael has been writing the Baturday News for three years.

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a good week! While I was enjoying my summer here in Virginia, people in other places around the world weren’t enjoying themselves quite so much. It has be a particularly difficult week for the Italians. There was a terrible earthquake in Italy this week. They are still having aftershocks, which in my opinion are strong enough to be considered full-fledged earthquakes themselves. I would like to dedicate this week’s blog to the people of Italy. Our thoughts are with you.

Here is an adorable picture of an Italian bat, the Mediterranean Horseshoe Bat.

Now, for happier news. It is International Bat Weekend! All the bats at Save Lucy are very excited. They just know that they will get extra mealworms for the special occasion! Arlington, VA is celebrating Bat Weekend with Bat Fest Arlington. Mrs. Sturges, Save Lucy’s president, will be there, but unfortunately, I can’t go. I will be at Bat Fest Annandale in a couple of weeks though. I am looking forward to seeing all the bats and bat lovers there!

In other news, there was a very important article shared this week on Save Lucy’s Facebook page. I feel it is my civic duty to mention it here, just in case some of you didn’t see it. I can’t believe I have to mention it, but…don’t lick bats! Apparently, some people do this for fun. It is not a good idea. I believe this rule should be extended to include all animals, wild and domestic. This includes, but is not limited to bats (obviously), squirrels, opossums, frogs, snakes, turtles, ostriches, lions, elephants, dogs, cats, birds, slugs, octopuses, dolphins, etc. The animals don’t like it. They might bite you to defend themselves. They might get sick. You might get sick. You might get fur in your mouth. There are just millions of reasons not to do this. If you feel the need to lick something, go find yourself a nice lollipop. Lollipops like to be licked and they don’t fight back. And, this concludes my public service announcement.

I hope you all have a great week. I will be enjoying my last week of summer. If you are able to, go outside this weekend and look for bats. Happy International Bat Weekend!