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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
A man in Warsaw received a surprise when he discovered that a colony of bats had moved into a pair of shoes he had left on his balcony. Local animal services, who were called out to help, believe they had planned to hibernate for the winter.
Municipal police officers specialising in nature-related issues, known as Ekopatrol, were called out by a man who had reported bats inhabiting his balcony.
That in itself would not have been unusual. But, when they arrived on the scene, “the sight they encountered surprised them”, wrote the police. “The shoes on the balcony were swarming with bats” – around 20 in total.
Czy nietoperze mogą spać w butach?! 👟
Właśnie to zobaczył właściciel mieszkania z ul. Klaudyny, który wezwał strażników miejskich, gdy w jego "sneakersach" na balkonie ukryło się około 20 wtulonych w siebie 🦇.
Sprawdź szczegóły: ↘️ https://t.co/ArLVsATMTM#Bielany #Ekopatrol pic.twitter.com/3FRsQ6b5cH— Straż Miejska m.st. Warszawy (@SMWarszawa) November 18, 2025
“Protecting themselves from the cold, they had found a rather unusual hiding place. The sight of the small, winged mammals huddled together could have been heartwarming, but it was not the best or safest place for them to hibernate.”
The officers therefore carefully removed the animals and relocated them to Warsaw City Forests, a complex of forests located in the city, where they are now being cared for by specialists.
Given the difficulty of removing the bats from the shoes without harming or stressing them, the man agreed to “sacrifice his shoes for the sake of the peace of the unusual guests nesting within”, wrote the offices, who praised him for his “empathy”.
Bats regularly seek shelter during Poland’s cold winters, often hibernating from mid-November to March, notes National Geographic Polska. This allows them to survive when insects, their main source of food, are scarce.
While often the animals hibernate in natural environments, such as caves and hollows in trees, they also sometimes take shelter in man-made structures, like tunnels and basements.
“In recent years, bats have been invading Warsaw apartments for the winter,” Błażej Wojtowicz, president of the Polish Bat Protection Society, told National Geographic. “In February, I personally pulled over 60 bats out from under a windowsill because a tenant couldn’t sleep – they were squeaking constantly.”
He identified the bats in the latest incident as common noctule bats. In the past, that species would not hibernate in Poland, instead migrating long distances to warmer regions of Europe in winter. However, their behaviour has recently changed, and the bats now commonly remain in Poland year-round.
A man returned to his apartment after a long absence to find that 18 bats had taken up residence, with most of them in a state of hibernation on a pile of pillows next to his bed.
The animals have been safely moved to a wildlife rehabilitation centre https://t.co/NKkPEGo02A
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) December 7, 2022
Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Main image credit: Straż Miejska Warszawa
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
