A Corbin man is undergoing rabies vaccinations after being bitten by a bat last weekend.
Darrell Jackson and his friend Fee Brown during a four-wheeling trip, last Saturday, in an area in Campbell County Tennessee, returned to a cabin to find a bat inside one of the rooms. According to Jackson and Brown, the men opened doors in an attempt to coax the bat to fly outside. After a while, Jackson caught the animal in a sheet with the intentions of setting it free outdoors. The friends then decided they wanted a closer look at the creature, and the startled animal bit Jackson on the thumb during it’s escape from the sheet and fluttered between the men. Eventually the bat flew outside.
Days later friends talked Jackson into seeking medical treatment, since bats are known to sometimes carry rabies. Since the animal was set loose and could not be tested for rabies, Jackson is undergoing rabies vaccinations that are not only extremely painful, but expensive. Jackson said a round will cost him $1080 and more than one round is required.
Thor Barhman III, a local caver and environmentalist who is a conservation officer for the Pine Mountain Grotto caving organization, says it is important to remember that bats are not normally aggressive towards humans, but any bat or other wild animal that feels trapped or in danger will become aggressive. Barhman added that bats are very beneficial creatures that help to lower the insect populations and should never be harmed or killed.
Barhman says if a bat gets in a home or building, it’s best to open windows and doors to let the creature fly out, and that bats should never be handled by anyone except experts.
More information about bats may be viewed online at http://batcon.org.