Many people find bats in their house and they might discover them on a worktop, in the sink, on a window ledge or amazingly on a carpet.

How people find these tiny mammals on a patterned carpet is beyond belief.

I was surprised to get a call from a lady in Gourock telling me that a bat had been hanging in her porch for two days.

The details were a bit skimpy, but we eventually discovered that the bat was at the top of the porch, out of reach, and ladders would be needed to retrieve it.

Going to Gourock to collect a bat after dark isn’t appealing so we contacted one of our couriers.

These are people who have offered to bring casualties to Hessilhead if the person who has found it cannot help.

Most times the casualty will be in a box. It was a big ask to see if David could go to the address, look at the bat, find a ladder and retrieve the animal.

But an hour or so later the couriers arrived with a box and a bat. We were surprised to see the bat, not a pipistrelle as we’d been expecting, but a long-eared bat.

As the name suggests, these bats have huge ears, nearly as long as the body. They hunt by flying slowly along trees and gardens, snatching insects such as beetles, earwigs and moths.

We are delighted that Leo has settled in well and is eating lots. We need to find a suitable release site now.