The Invisible Mammal

‘Certainly, it will be hard to look at these “rats with wings” as budding Nosferatus ever again after watching a scientist bottle-feed an orphan. Prepare to be ahh-ed.‘

‘[Director Kristin Tiéche's] journey looking into bats, their struggle to survive and the people who work to help them led her to make “The Invisible Mammal,” the award-winning filmmaker’s first feature documentary. The film, which highlights a team of female biologists and their work to save bats from white-nose syndrome, will make its world premiere at DocLands at noon Saturday at the Smith Rafael Film Center in San Rafael.‘

‘“The Invisible Mammal” follows three women scientists, University of California (UC), Santa Cruz researcher/chief scientist of Bat Conservation International Dr. Winifred Frick, founder of NorCal Bats Corky Quirk of UC Davis and Dr. Alice Chung-MacCoubrey of the National Park Service, as they strive to protect North American bats against the deadly disease. Frick and her research team discovered a way to help bats combat WNS. The project is called Operation Fat Bat (OFB). The innovative solution is to use light to lure the bats out of the caves, allowing them to feast on insects before winter hibernation.‘

‘Bats don't have the best reputation. Many people find them scary and COVID didn't help. But those who really know about bats, understand how much they mean to the environment and our health. Unfortunately, some of our fury, flying friends are facing a disease that is pushing them to extinction, especially Little Brown Bats. What happens to bats affects us humans. Luckily, there are scientists trying to keep bats around. Filmmaker Kristin Tièche follows a group of female scientists working to save bats in her documentary "The Invisible Mammal." It's part of the lineup at the Doclands Film Festival this Saturday May 3 at the Smith Rafael Film Center in San Rafael.‘