Blog: Holy house guest, Batman! Bat greets Toronto man’s early-morning toilet visit

Torontonian Michael Connor had an unwanted guest in his home on Tuesday morning.

Connor, up at 6 a.m. only to use the facilities, encountered a bat — yes, a bat — swimming in his toilet in his home in the Beaches, in the Queen Street and Glen Manor Road area.

He posted a photo gallery on Facebook of not only the discovery but of the step-by-step process of getting the mammal out of the loo.

“A little before 6 a.m. this morning,” Connor writes, “just as I was sitting down, with only the light of morning coming in the window, I realized there was a swimmer in the toilet.”

“I’m guessing a brown bat. When his wings were extended they’d have been about 12 inches. He (I’m guessing) was stressed, and needed to swim constantly. So I moved quickly to formulate a removal plan. I have no idea how it’s possible that he ended up swimming in my toilet.”

“As I lifted him out of the water and into the bucket he started to vocalize and click. It was quite heartbreaking.”

“While I carried him outside he tried to climb out of the bucket. I’m guessing his wings were too wet to fly and he got no purchase on the plastic of the bucket. Worked out well (by accident).”

“Just outside my door there’s a deeply shaded corner (lit in the photo below by flash) and this window screen seemed the perfect place to slide my bat friend out of the bucket. He pretty quickly oriented himself head down and was spreading his wings and vocalizing when I left him. I’m hoping that when I check in on the screen in a bit he’s either dried off and flown away, or has tucked up his wings and is sleeping off his unhappy experience. I know I feel the need of a nap now.”

At 10 a.m., we asked Connor for an update.

“There is no sign of my bat friend on the screen where I left him,” he wrote. “Above the screen is thick dark ivy on brick and eventually an overhanging eve. He may have found himself a roost up there.”

Connor’s attempt at napping was unsuccessful and he had to head to work.

“You know, I don’t have a sense of whether he was suicidal, delinquent, or just having a really bad end of the night,” he concluded.

bat - Michael Conner

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