A public library librarian in a small town in the United Kingdom noticed someone asleep in a tranquil corner of the historical nonfiction section while sorting volumes last month.
It’s not unusual to see someone dozing with a good book, but she was surprised to find a little brown bat fast asleep. She didn’t want to wake him up, so she dialed a coworker’s number to double-check her theories about the animal’s identity.
When the library worker phoned the local animal rights organization, a police officer arrived 10 minutes later. The library staff was able to photograph the animal hugging books, and the police officer politely agreed to wait.
The bat’s entrance inside the library to slumber remains a mystery. Bats are also welcome visitors in some Portuguese libraries, where they devour insects that might otherwise eat old volumes.
The Public Library, on the other hand, didn’t need bats and was the animal released into the wild in the adjacent Wildlife Refuge. This is what I mean when I say “great occasion.”
