The video shows frozen bats rescued from the Arctic explosion and released back into the wild

During the nasty winter storm that swept through America last weekend, cold temperatures hit some animals harder than others. In Florida, iguanas fell from trees. Bats fell off bridges in Texas. Both of these species get so cold that they cannot hold on and then thump to the ground.

The recent Arctic explosion in the United States over the Christmas weekend proved that certain animals cannot defy gravity. Iguanas fell in Florida and a bunch of Mexican free-tailed bats in Texas all fell to the ground, apparently frozen to death.

Only they weren’t dead.

The Houston Humane Society last Thursday rescued more than 1,500 frozen bats under the Waugh Drive Bridge, a habitat for bat colonies. More than 115 of them died trying to thaw and recover. The rest were released from their home camp into the wild at dusk Wednesday night, just in time for a feast of mosquitoes and moths in the now warmer Houston skies.

Here is video of the bat release captured by Houston’s CBS affiliate KHOU.

During their frozen catch, the bats were given fluids to ensure they all stayed hydrated, according to KHOU, the Houston affiliate of CBS.

Members gathered at the Waugh Drive Bridge to retrieve bats from a large cloth bag and lift them into the air, where they each took off into the fairly warm evening to feast on insects, which are also adapting to the seasonal temperatures adjusted. The humane society used a scissor lift to get them close to the bridge’s subordinates.

Mary Warwick, director of the Texas Wildlife Rehabilitation Coalition, said Houston’s Waugh Bridge is typically a tourist attraction, but they owe it to the bats to return it to its natural habitat to roost and feed, much like other bat colonies like the Congress Avenue Bridge in austin

“When they first come out of the colony, they eat mosquitoes,” Warwick said. “As they go higher, they eat a lot of moths and insects that affect the food crops.”

Crowds gathered near the bridge to see the prequel and listen to remarks from the Houston Humane Society.

Last week’s Arctic blast, heading into the Christmas weekend, sent temperatures plummeting across the country as far north as Texas’s Rio Grande Valley and southern Florida. Temperatures in Houston dropped to over 20 degrees over the weekend, causing the bats to lose muscle coordination and fall out of their tight grips onto the bridge.