Amanda Lollar and Bat World Pictures

Today we'd like to introduce you to Amanda Lollar.

Amanda, let's start with your story. We'd love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Growing up, I had the unique existence of bouncing between the life of an army brat and a farm girl. My [parents were both animal lovers and taught me to respect all life; hence, I've been rescuing animals since childhood. I have also always had a soft-sort for the underdog. In 1988, I found an injured bat laying on its back on a hot sidewalk in Mineral Wells, Texas, where my mother and owned a furniture business together. Even though I had grown up believing that all bats are rabid (like many still believe) my hearty went out to the bat and I could not let it slowly bake alive in the sun. I gently scooted the bat onto a newspaper with the toe of my shoe and took it back tour furniture store to allow it to die in peace. However, I could not stop thinking about the bat that day – how soft it appeared and the intelligence I had seen in its eyes – so I went to our local library and checked out a book on bats. That's when I found out that everything I thought I knew about bats was not true, and because of the misconceptions most humans have about bats, we almost succeeded in killing off one of the best species we have on earth for insect control.

I decided to take the bat home and try to heal its wing and then set it free, but it turned out that the bat (and female) was permanently injured and would never fly again. I named her Sunshine because she was the opposite of everything I believed about bats. She lived with me for the next year and a half, and during that time she taught me the enchanting language of bats, sparking my indelible love for their remarkable species.

In 1993, my Mother passed away and in 1994, I liquidated our furniture business to found Bat World Sanctuary. Since then I have volunteered my time to Bat World Sanctuary 7 days a week, 365 days per year, 12 to 16 hours per day. In 1995 I discovered the "song" of the Brazilian free-tailed bat (a mating song) and later discovered that these bats have over 25 different vocalizations they use to communicate.

We're always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we've spoken with enough people to know that it's not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Bats are one of the most misunderstood and disliked animal on the planet so the struggle has been very difficult. Raising the funds needed to rescue animals that people often hate was next to impossible during the 90s – money had to be borrowed to stay afloat. The internet has made it much easier to educate the public on why these animals need to be saved as well as facts about bats that they may not realize, such as the fact that bats rarely contract rabies, they have excellent eyesight, they are not related to mice, they don't get caught in your hair and they are exceptionally clean animals. Most people don't realize that we are dependent on bats for our own survival on earth. Bats bring us over 400 different commercial products and 80 medicines through seed dispersal and pollination. Insect eating bats are literal vacuum cleaners of the night sky, saving us billions of dollars annually on pesticide use. Additionally, bats are key players in the rain-forest (the lungs of our planet). Up to 98 % of all rain-forest regrowth comes from sees that have been spread by fruit bats.

In 2010, just as we were becoming financially stable for the first time since founding Bat World in 1994, we had the misfortune of acquiring a cyber-stalker who tried to destroy all that I had accomplished over the last two decades. She tried to destroy us on the internet, and our donations dwindled until we only had $200 in the bank. Once again we were forced to borrow money to stay afloat and also provide care for the animals. During this time, one of our videos went viral and donations starting to come in from donors who had never heard of us before. These donors saved us from financial ruin. In 2012, after a 4-day trail with our cyber-stalker resenting herself, we won a judgment against her for 6-million dollars. The judgment gave us our reputation back. During the ruling, the judge compared my work with bats to Jane Goodall's work with primates. Since our comeback, we have twice been nominated for the Indianapolis Prize, the world's leading prize for conservation, and we received The Carol Noon Award for Sanctuary Excellence in 2016.

We'd love to hear more about your business.
We are a non-profit bat sanctuary and the only accredited bat sanctuary on earth. We operate like a primate sanctuary with the exception that we are here for bats. We are on the front line to end the mistreatment of bats. Each year we rescue hundreds of bats who might otherwise die. Lifetime sanctuary is given to non-releasable bats, including those that are orphaned, injured, and retired from the exotic pet trade, zoos and research facilities.

What were you like growing up?
I was always a bit of a loner in that I preferred the company of animals over human friends. I credit my military upbringing for giving me the discipline it took to keep my organization going despite tremendous odds, and I credit my farm life for enabling me to love all creatures great and small.

Contact Info:

• Address: Bat World Sanctuary
  299 High Point Rd
  Weatherford, Texas 76088
• Website: https://batworld.org/
• Phone: 940-325-3404
• Email: sanctuary@batworld.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/batworldsanctuary/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/batworld
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/batworld
• Other: https://www.youtube.com/user/batworldsanctuary

Image Credit:
Amanda Lollar/Bat World Sanctuary

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Amanda Lollar and Bat World Pictures

Source: http://voyagedallas.com/interview/meet-amanda-lollar-bat-world-sanctuary-west-fort-worth/

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