The Museum of English Rural Life found an adorable bat and named him Merlin
The Museum of English Rural Life is already internet-famous because of its animal tweets. The thicc ram has nothing on a live bat, however.
This story actually started back in Nov. 2018 when a bat was discovered just chilling out near the ceiling of the museum's book store. The museum called in an expert: retired librarian and licensed batworker Rose-Ann Movsovic -- also a museum volunteer.
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What a rad hobby. Movsovic actually tweeted out a photo of the adorable little critter back in November, but that was all we were told at the time.
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Now, the museum -- or MERL, as it's often called -- is ready to tell the whole story. First, the bat was inspected. Closely. NSFW?
That examination is actually what led to the exact species of bat being identified. It turns out these little rascals are relative newcomers to the UK. As MERL notes, they hail from the Baltic states and have migrated to Germany, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
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As of Feb. 2019, little Merlin is still in the care of Movsovic. He's apparently participating in a project aimed at helping researchers better understand the species' migratory habits.
But! Under Movsovic's care he's also been learning how to live as a normal-sized adult bat that can fly. He was an underweight baby bat when the museum found him, you see.
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Hopefully Merlin will be free soon. Until then, we get to marvel at this adorable little wingmouse with his tiny button nose and his very relatable money stress.
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Since you're here, follow MERL's advice and take a few minutes to learn more about bats, why they're important, and how you can help ensure their healthy continued existence.
Topics Animals
Adam Rosenberg is a Senior Games Reporter for Mashable, where he plays all the games. Every single one. From AAA blockbusters to indie darlings to mobile favorites and browser-based oddities, he consumes as much as he can, whenever he can.Adam brings more than a decade of experience working in the space to the Mashable Games team. He previously headed up all games coverage at Digital Trends, and prior to that was a long-time, full-time freelancer, writing for a diverse lineup of outlets that includes Rolling Stone, MTV, G4, Joystiq, IGN, Official Xbox Magazine, EGM, 1UP, UGO and others.Born and raised in the beautiful suburbs of New York, Adam has spent his life in and around the city. He's a New York University graduate with a double major in Journalism and Cinema Studios. He's also a certified audio engineer. Currently, Adam resides in Crown Heights with his dog and his partner's two cats. He's a lover of fine food, adorable animals, video games, all things geeky and shiny gadgets.
