You must have heard of people keeping dogs or cats as pets. But have you heard of bats being kept as pets? This is what exactly Amulya Behera, a resident of Oshang village under Khaira block in Balasore district, has done. The bonding between his family members and the nocturnal mammal has to be seen to be believed.
Asked about how the friendship began, Amulya narrated an incident that occurred 12 years ago.
A pup while flying along with its mother over Amulya’s house fell in their courtyard. Hearing its cries, he came out of the house and rescued it. The challenge was then to save its life. He started giving grape juice to it. They started calling it ‘Badu’. It grew with the love and affection of the family members.
Now while its other members are living in trees and caves, Badu is living with Amulya’s family members.
“We never consider it as an animal. Rather we consider it as our family member. Specifically, I consider it as my elder son. When I return at night, I always bring something like an apple or a rasagola for it. And hearing my voice, it too starts chirping,” said Amulya.
“We are taking great care of it. I love it much more than my children,” said Ambika Behera, Amulya’s wife.
When asked about the legality of keeping a bat as a pet, former PCCF BK Patnaik said, "I don’t know why people keep bats as pets. Though it looks like a bird, it is a mammal. There is no problem in keeping it as a pet.”