Officials say an Orchard Drive family is undergoing a series of rabies shots after a bat was spotted in the house on Christmas Eve and then couldn’t be found for testing.
After reporting the presence of the bat to police on Dec. 24, the family was told to bring in wildlife professionals in order to find it, but neither they nor police could locate the mammal, according to Animal Control Officer Allyson Halm.
The bat had been spotted in a young child’s bedroom early in the morning and appeared to have gone up an open vent, according to a police report.
“Once you lose sight of it, you have to think, ‘What if it wasn’t that bat?’ ” Halm said.
The family opted to vaccinate all relatives in the house at the time the bat was present.
Police routinely advise homeowners with bats present to contact professional exterminators “because if they’re roosting you could have that problem again,” Halm said.
Though it’s unusual to see bat activity this time of year, the weather has been unusually warm and it’s affecting wildlife, Halm said.