A dead bat was found in an office in Mendocino Hall last Wednesday, just three days after a northern California man died from rabies contracted from a bat.

“I saw something black, but I couldn?t tell what it was because I didn?t have my glasses on,” said Sylvia Fox, a journalism professor.

Fox began to worry later that day, when she read a Sacramento Bee article on Jason Andrell, a Willows resident who died last week after contracting rabies. According to the report, authorities believe that Andrell contacted the virus when he killed a bat.

Fox returned to her office with some colleagues and verified that the dead animal was a bat, at which point she called Facilities Management to remove it.

“It was probably nesting somewhere in a crevice in the building,” said Melissa Schlenker, an instructional support technician with the Biology Department. “Bats do nest together. They usually fill whatever niche they find. If they find a big area, there would be a lot. If it?s just a small crevice, there may be just a few.”

Most of the 24 species of bats living in California nest in small groups, according to the California Department of Fish and Game. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that less than 0.5 percent of the bat population actually carries the rabies virus, and those that do are usually too sick to leave the nest.

Jim Oliver, a pest removal specialist with Facilities Management, verified that a dead bat was found, and removed, from Mendocino Hall Wednesday.

“It was dead and there were no signs that it had any sign of a disease or anything like that,” said Matt Altier, Associate Vice President of Facilities Management. “If there had been signs of disease, or if it had bitten anyone, it would have been sent away for testing.”

Bats have occasionally been found in buildings on campus before.

“We are close to the river, and they sometimes get disoriented.

They will fly into a building and not be able to find their way out,” Altier said.

A search for other bats was conducted in and around Mendocino Hall Wednesday afternoon, but none were found.

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