Polish bat mum

Perceived as vectors of disease and associated with vampire lore, bats have a bad reputation, and elicit fearful reactions from the public.

Up until 16 years ago, Barbara Gorecka, who's from Poland, had the same mindset, but one chilly January, the bats began creeping into her flat via the ventilation ducts. Having sought advice from a friend-cum-microbiologist, her fears were allayed and over time, the nocturnal mammals began to intrigue her.

Barbara Gorecka, bat keeper: "I devote so much time to them and they amaze me so much that I simply have to admit that I love them. I can get up in the middle of the night to give them an antibiotic, it's like loving a child."

Such is Gorecka's devotion to the strange-looking creatures that she's now tended to more than 1,600 of them, with roughly three dozen under her wing at the moment.

Barbara Gorecka: "The bats love to spend their time under my jumper. They purr and cuddle, just like cats. I'm so used to having bats under my shirt that I sometimes forget and leave the house, for example, or get in the car. Now I realise that I've also got a bat up my sleeve. Once I even went to church like this."

If their hibernation period's interrupted by firework explosions or by climate change-induced rising temperatures, the bats are vulnerable and require nourishment. These days, in her bat sanctuary - her 9th floor apartment in a residential block - Gorecka relies for assistance on a network of knowledgeable experts and enthusiastic volunteers.

Desperate to enlighten the public at large about her winged companions, she gives presentations to schoolchildren, focusing on the mammals' sociability.

One staff member is deputy head teacher Jadwiga Romankiewicz, who's based in a primary school.

Jadwiga Romankiewicz: "At first some children were afraid that the bats would fly, that they might harm someone, children or other animals. It turned out that they are really friendly and very sociable."

Given that each of her animals is allocated a name, a bespoke feeding plan and a medicine regime, it's hardly surprising that Gorecka's earned the moniker 'Bat-Mum'.

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