Ick. How could you not taste it?

Iowa woman finds drowned bat in tea mug

Unfortunate mammal found at bottom of cup after all-day sipping

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - A western Iowa woman is recovering from the shock of finding a drowned bat in her tea mug - after she sipped from the cup all day.

The brown bat, about the size of two tea bags, was found a few weeks ago by a 60-year-old Woodbury County woman, said Chuck Cipperley, an environmental director for the Siouxland health office in Sioux City.

"I knew the person, so I knew it was no joke," said Cipperley, who took the call from the woman.
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The woman, who declined to identify herself, told Cipperley she found the bat when she was cleaning out the mug at night. She said she put the bat in a plastic bag before alerting the Siouxland health office the next morning.

Cipperley said the bat was sent that day - Sept. 1 - to the University Hygienic Laboratory in Coralville. Results showed the bat did not have rabies.

State Epidemiologist Patricia Quinlisk said had the bat been rabid, the woman probably would have undergone a series of rabies shots, even though the probability of contracting rabies would be low.

The virus needs a break in the skin to enter the body, said Susan Brockus, state public health veterinarian.

Mike Pentella, program manager at University Hygienic Laboratory, said the bat was a first for the lab.

"We test many, many bats," he said, "but none that have drowned in a cup of tea before."