Onlookers stunned as woman pulls struggling baby animal from hotel pool: 'The faith in a human helping ... is so sweet'

"Come here, and I'll help you … do you want a hand?" a rescuer calls as a two-month-old bat seemingly "flies" through the water of a swimming pool to get to her. 

This scene at a resort pool in North Queensland, Australia, has been viewed more than 208,000 times on Facebook, warming the hearts of social media followers. 

In an article from News.com.au, the young bat's rescuer, Kate CJ Murphy, president of the Townsville Bat Rescue Australia, said that the youngling was probably testing its flight skills for the first time without mom.

"Bats fly down to rivers to skim the water to drink, they don't hang still and drink — they skim down as they're flying. [And] the lap pool looks like a river to a bat who is learning about life," she told the news site. 

The female bat climbed right into Murphy's hands and is now in the care of the rescue organization. According to the article, she's living in a colony with other bats at the rescue — they'll eventually be released into the wild as a group since they're "mob animals."  

People on social media loved the story.

"I love the way she came straight to you," one user commented. "The faith in a human helping her is so sweet."

Another added, "Awwwwwwww. Sweet little sky puppy said, 'Ohh thank goodness you came! Whew!'"

Aside from the cuteness of the video, a win for bats is a win for humans. These flying mammals are important seed dispersers, pollinators, insect controllers, and nutrient recyclers, scientists say. Bat Conservation and Rescue QLD even calls flying foxes — also known as fruit bats — "Australia's secret weapon against climate change," thanks to all the ecosystem services they provide. 

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As for the baby bat caught in the pool, it's likely a story that Townsville Bat Rescue Australia will see again.

"The lovely managers of this resort call me fairly often unfortunately," it said in the Facebook post. "This lap pool is not far from a colony and mangroves."

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