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On Saturday, March 3 a resident living on the 2300 block of Rubicon Ln in a house backing to Spring Valley Pkwy was bitten by one of two bats. No information is available as to the time of day.

There was a picture hanging on the porch wall and there were 2 small bats behind it. Animal Control came and the officer was able to catch one of them but the other one got away. The one that was caught tested negative for rabies. Since the other bat was not caught, they have to assume it has rabies and the resident is having to go through the rabies shots. There are 5 shots given over a period of 2 weeks. It is very important to start treatment immediately. Without treatment, rabies is almost always fatal. A police officer also responded and said that bats were frequently seen in Lincoln last year. (V36 backs to Spring Valley Pkwy & open space, entrance is Longspur Loop off Spring Valley)

If you see a bat or skunk, do not touch it; instead trap it by putting a coffee can or other container over it.

In California, skunks and bats are the most common carriers of rabies. Some of the signs of rabies are:

Acting unusually tame or unafraid of humans

Nocturnal animals such as bats and skunks active during the day

Bats unable to fly or have been caught by a domestic pet

Much more information is available in two brochures from Animal Control:

Click here for information from California Department of Public Health

Click here for a lengthy brochure about bats with information throughout the United States

The Alerts Team
SCLHWatchAlerts@lincal.net