A tiny bat hitched a ride to Omaha and made history

Workers in an Omaha office building spotted a tiny animal crawling across the floor and called NHS Animal Control, which delivered it to Nebraska Wildlife Rehab. The creature turned out to be a female cave myotis bat, a species never before recorded in Nebraska. Cave myotis usually live throughout Mexico and the southwestern United States, hundreds of miles from where she was found. The rehab group thinks she hitched a ride. "We suspect this little bat could have tucked herself into a shipment or piece of freight originating within her normal range, only to emerge after arriving in Omaha," the organization wrote. Since the species roosts in dark spaces like caves and tunnels, a freight truck may have looked close enough. She measures about 2.25 inches and weighs less than half an ounce, small enough to pose for photos inside a white ramekin. She is safe now. The rehab group's verdict on the arrival: "Halloween came early."