our friend, swoopers

Our office got an unexpected visitor last night at around 11pm. I'm not sure what it's name was, but I've dubbed the curious critter Swoopers, because it was a bat--and it liked to swoop.

Pictured to the right is the big brown bat; I'm not sure if this is the correct type of bat that paid us a visit last night, but please remember that I'm not a biologist, and I spent a good portion of its visit hiding under my desk as if we were practicing a bomb drill. I'm actually grateful that Swoopers did decide to fly in that open window, because it taught me that I can still be lightning quick, especially when faced with a tiny, furry, toothed projectile hurtling itself at me because it's freaked out by our jukebox playlist of incessant emo and just wants to get the fuck out.

The big brown bat lives in California and not as big as the name suggests. It's only a medium-sized bat and is normally 12cm long. That's approximately how large Swoopers was. After flying about like a spaz and ignoring our helpful shouts of "get out of here!" and "there's the fucking window!" Swoopers eventually calmed down and chilled with us, hanging around like a bat and just kind of observing. Maybe it will report back to its bat discussion group on the activities of humans; I don't know, but by about 2am, I was finally done with work and let Swoopers become someone else's problem.

If you're curious, the world's largest bat is the kinda cuddly looking scamp to the left. That's the golden crown flying fox, which can be found in the Philippines. It's a fruit bat and can get a wingspan of up to six feet. That's pretty big. Taller than I am by a good three inches. If one of those had gotten into the office, I don't know what I would have done, but it wouldn't have been pretty I'm sure.

The golden crown flying fox is known to roam the Subic Forest National Protected Area, which is the largest known roosting site for bats in the world.

Philippines is also the home of the giant flying fox, which is actually heavier than the golden crown, and the world's smallest bat, the Phillipines bamboo bat, which is only 4cm. In all, Philippines is the home to 56 species of bats.