HAVING been batty about bats for as long as I can remember, I couldn't believe my luck when bosses at Dudley Zoological Gardens agreed to give me a peek inside the attraction's brand new bat cave.

The zoo is offering a new Feed the Bats experience, perfect for Hallowe'en, at its new attraction within its Castle Creatures complex - giving bat fans a rare chance to get up close and personal with its 80 resident bats.

I've always been fascinated by the furry-flying creatures of the night - I have no idea why, it's just always been that way; and getting chance to feed and touch these amazing animals for real didn't disappoint.

It may not be everyone's cup of tea and even with my love of bats I wondered as I stepped into their darkened enclosure whether having the hungry little creatures swarming around my face might trigger a Willie Scott from Indiana Jones style squeamish-ness to take over.

But after a few minutes in the recently developed bat cave, which has only been open since March, I was perfectly at home.

I couldn't help but let out a few little 'eek' sounds as they fluttered around my head and landed on my hands to take a bite of banana - reportedly their favourite food, along with melon and peppers.Dudley News:

Seba's short-tailed bats, which originate from South America, seemed the boldest and friendliest of the two varieties which are housed together at the Castle Creatures exhibit within the historic ruins of Dudley Castle.

The others - the somewhat larger Egyptian fruit bats - made out-of-curiosity fly pasts that were given away only by a slight breeze felt on the back of the neck; and many of the brown, winged-mouse like creatures rather more lazily lurked in the shadowy corners - letting out occasional high pitched shrieks.

And one of them - Nana - doesn't busy herself with flying at all. Yes, a flight-less bat!

Trainee keeper Cara Sheldon explained: "There's nothing physically wrong with her; I suspect she wasn't taught as a youngster or she's just lazy. But she gets the social side of it and she's in good health and I love her to bits."

Not inclined to move from her perch, Nana (named after her favourite treat) merely hung around looking in wonderment as our cameraman Phil Loach tried to capture the moment.

I couldn't help but warm to her cute, interested looking face so I offered her the last banana which she just licked to begin with - before rather more bravely taking a bite so large that she struggled to fit it all in her tiny mouth. Confidence boosted - she came back for further munches before making off with a final far-too-big piece.Dudley News:

It was an absolute privilege to be able to see and interact with these mysterious mammals so intimately - an experience of a lifetime - and strangely even more incredible to realise just how human-like their qualities are.

They live on and love sweet treats and apparently have been known to become obese as a result of their high sugar diets; they are very social and live in colonies; they can be lazy, they're naturally very curious and they're not very good at sharing.

So perhaps it's not such a bizarre idea after all that for centuries fiction has depicted humans turning into bats and vice versa.

As well as getting to feed the cute little creatures - trainee keeper Cara offered a wealth of interesting information about the cunning little creatures and was every bit as entertaining with her knowledge of and passion for bats as the animals themselves.

The 20-minute Feed the Bats experience is available at 2.30pm daily and costs £95 for two people.

Participants must be aged ten or over and the price includes a Close Encounter certificate, a detailed animal fact sheet, gift card and zoo admission.

Marketing manager Andrea Hales said: "It would make a great birthday, anniversary or Christmas gift for anyone batty about these flying mammals.”

Funds generated from sales of the zoo's Close Encounter experiences helps pay for animal treats, toys, bedding, health checks, food bills, heating and more.

For tickets or further information check out http://www.dudleyzoo.org.uk/news/feed-bats-at-dzg or call 01384 215313.