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Rinehart rescues a bat

Rinehart rescues a bat

by Renee Fite

City of Stilwell Director of Public Relations and Media


On June 13, 2024, on his way to work, Tyler Rinehart did a double take when he saw something black moving on the street. A second glance showed it wasn’t a black bag blowing, but a bat walking with its wings outstretched.


Rinehart works in Community Development and Animal Control. He stopped his car at First Street and Division and walked to the bat, standing in front of it. The bat climbed on his boot and he put it in the backseat of his car.


“It needed help. It was in the middle of the road and could have been run over, or attacked by a cat,” Rinehart said.


He called the game warden and was advised to send a photo, which he did. The warden determined it was not an endangered species and gave him permission for a safe release it in a wooded area.


Officer Jared Cramer said it was one of the common bats, a pipistrelle. Bats are mammals.


Adair County is home to two endangered species of bats, the Ozark Big-eared Bat and Gray Bat. They are protected by federal law.


If a citizen sees a bat in distress, or any has a concern for any wildlife issue, they should contact the Oklahoma Wildlife Department.

The bat


Animal Control Officer Tyler Rinehart rescued this bat when it was walking down the street in Stilwell. Citizens who encounter a bat in distress are advised to call the State Game Warden.

“The Ozark Big-eared bat is a pretty special sub species only found in Adair County, and a little in Sequoyah County and just over the Arkansas border. It’s kind of a struggle to manage because they’re not easily observed. Unlike common bats they’re not in caves in large numbers that we can go in and easily count. They roost in trees and other places, so it’s hard to get a handle on how many there actually are,” said Cramer. 


On the Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation website it says the Ozark big-eared bat is the largest subspecies of the Townsend’s big-eared bat species complex. It is a medium-sized bat with dark reddish-brown fur, lace ears about four times the length found on most Oklahoma bats, and two prominent lumps on the snout. It is between 3.5 and 4.5 inches long with a wingspan of 11.5 to 12.5 inches. 


Since 1993 the entrance to six essential Ozark big-eared bat caves in Oklahoma have been gated to protect the bats and keep intruders out so bats don’t abandon the cave and can live or hibernate safely. 


In Adair County these protective gates have proven a positive effect on the bat colonies in at least two caves due to the higher number of bats counted during both winter hibernation and summer emergence.


The wardens are there to help, he said.


“The public is always welcome to call with any wildlife issues. We’re a good starting point with any issue, if we don’t have the solution we know where to go to get results,” said Cramer.


For those concerned about rabies, in Oklahoma the last species known to have rabies were two skunks in Woodward in 2000. There have been no known cases since then in the state. While those facts are available, they’re not the whole story.

The most important thing is safe handling, Cramer said.


“In the past people have heard that if you got bit by a bat you could get rabies, and you’d have to go through the rabies process. That’s still possible. It’s best not to pick a bat up at all,” he said. “So every bite is not being tracked and tested. We do know bats are a big time rabies carrier and they have canines so can break the skin if they bite you.”


Cramer said he’d been around a lot of bats and done research. 


“The concern is being bitten, I always wear gloves,” he said. 


It was the first time Cramer heard of a bat walking down the street.


“I hadn’t had that circumstance come up with one walking. Some of these bats roost in trees and structures, old buildings and underneath cliffs. It’s not like a lot of people think that they go in caves every night,” he said.


He advises citizens to leave them alone where they are, if possible.


“A person may come out of their front door and fine one hanging from the front porch, attached to a house or lying on concrete, where they decided to roost for the day. They are most often asleep and come dark will fly off. They usually don’t come back to that place,” Cramer said.


“I generally tell people if it’s possible to leave it be, just leave it there and it will be gone at dark.”




Contact Warden Jared Cramer at 918 931-2546 or Warden David Garrett at 918 431-2539.

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