Bats living at Tampa elementary school won’t be removed before kids head back to class
TAMPA, Fla. - On Thursday, students at Northwest Elementary in Tampa will get a real life look at wildlife.
Bats have recently taken up residence inside the school. It comes in the midst of bat mating season leaving the district with few options until it's over.
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It's hard to say how many or how exactly they got inside but Hillsborough County Schools confirmed to FOX 13 that there are bats living inside Northwest Elementary School.
"These bats that we have in Florida, the majority of our bats are free-tailed bats. They've got little tails, and they love man-made structures," All Creatures Wildlife Control Owner Dustin Hooper said.
Northwest Elementary in Tampa are changing classrooms as they wait for bat mating season to be over.
In an email sent to parents on Monday, the school's principal said the bats have been there for the last two weeks writing that they've "taken up residency in our rafters on the second floor and necessitated us to temporarily move some classrooms and close some hallways".
"It's okay because the kids are going to the school during the day. The bats aren't going to come out during the day. By the time the kids are at schools the bats are still in their roost, so I wouldn't worry about it," Hooper said.
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For now there is little the district can legally really do. According to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, bat mating season runs from April 15 to Aug. 15 it's illegal to block bats from their roosts. If bats are excluded during maternity season, flightless young can be trapped inside the structure and die.
On Aug. 15 the school can start to block bats.
"They are protected because a bat only has one baby, and they need their mothers. Every year I do get called during the middle of mating season. Hey, we've got bats. And I tell them, you can't do anything unless FWC comes out there and then deems it a health issue," Hooper explained.
For now, the district is waiting it out until Aug. 15 before they can take measures to block the bats from entering the school. Until then the district told parents that they shouldn't be concerned sending their kids back to school on Thursday.
Once Aug. 15 rolls around, the district said those areas where the bats were will be sanitized so teachers and students can return to their classrooms.