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| Growing up in the woods of northern California, I have a lot of memories of bats, starting at a very early age. We knew that we had bats living in the walls of our house and we could see them zooming around our yard at night, catching insects on the wing. I remember watching my dad open a wooden storage box in the woods a few miles from our house. When he lifted the lid, the small brown bat inhabitant squeaked good-naturedly at our intrusion and my dad told me that the little guy had been living there for weeks – he saw him every day and they were used to each other. I didn't see any reason to be afraid of him, but bats in general have a rotten reputation. Vampires, disease, and fear are all associated with the word bat. So how much of it is true? | |||||||||||||
| Bad Rap and Rumors | |||||||||||||
| Research proves that, once again, our fear of these fascinating animals is based primarily in misinformation. Bats get a bad rap for no real reason. One source claims that bats get bashed for the same reason cats and owls have been associated with evil for centuries. They are nocturnal animals and human beings, having notoriously poor night vision fear things that don't suffer from that disability. | |||||||||||||
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Bats, for the most part, do not carry rabies. You are just as unlikely to come across a rabid bat as you are a rabid dog or raccoon; they do exist, but the numbers are very small when viewed as a percentage. While vampire bats do exist in Central and South America, they are relatively harmless. They do not kill the animals that they feed off of, taking only small amounts of blood from livestock or other wild animals. Bats do not seek out humans. They do not tend to get tangled in peoples hair. A bat in the house is not the end of the world; as with any lost wild animal, the best thing is to remain calm. For bats, simply open the door and wait – as soon as they can find an opening to outside they will take it! Being solitary nighttime creatures, often the only bats found by people are ill or injured, a fact that unfortunately skews the statistics. Again, as with all injured, wild animals, a sick bat should be treated with caution. Do not touch them without gloves and, if possible, contact the nearest bat conservation group for further information. |
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| Rumors also surround bat droppings, known as guano. Although there is a fungus that grows on large, undisturbed amounts of bat guano found in humid, enclosed places, which releases spores that can lead to illness, the risk is no different than that faced by chicken farmers. The disease, known as histoplasmosis, causes flu-like symptoms and is not a huge risk to the population at large. Fears aside, bats are highly beneficial animals. North American bats consume millions of pounds of insects per night. Graced with a ravenous appetite and a high metabolism, bats eat almost their full-body weight daily. That sounds great on paper, but, as the great folks at the Organization for Bat Conservation explain it, that's the equivalent – roughly – of the average adult human sitting down and eating 50 large pizzas a day…and still being able to fly afterwards! |
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| Physical Characteristics | |||||||||||||
| Unlike flying squirrels (or sugar gliders) bats are capable of true flight and so all 1,000+ species are categorized in their own order, Chiroptera. Of the Chiroptera order, there are two main suborders: Megachiropters (megabats) characterized by their larger size, large eyes, and relatively small ears; and Microchiroptera (microbats), small bats with large ears and smaller eyes. | |||||||||||||
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| Megabats are only native to the Old World tropics of Africa , Asia, Australia, Indonesia, and the southwest Pacific Islands. This suborder of bats are fruit and nectar eaters; because they are daytime feeders, seeking stationary food sources, they do not use echolocation (the emitting of a high pitched sound that bounces off of objects and returns to the bat, much like radar) to feed. They have excellent eyesight , disproving the old phrase ‘blind as a bat!" The largest of the megabats are the flying foxes who can weigh up to 2 pounds and have a wingspan of up to six feet! | |||||||||||||
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Microbats are, by definition, much smaller. (The smallest species – the Kitti's hog-nosed bat – is about the size of a bumblebee and is thought to be the worlds smallest mammal!) These night feeders do utilize echolocation to find their food. Most of the microbats consume only insects, but some have specialized their diets to include fruit, nectar, fish, reptiles, and amphibians. These flying hunters are found all over the world, with Antarctica the only exception. The smallest microbat – also thought to be the worlds smallest mammal – is the Kitti's hognosed bat which has a wingspan of only a few inches for a bumblebee-sized body!
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| Food, Pups and Habitat | |||||||||||||
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Bats tend to hibernate in cold weather, waiting out the long, food-scarce winter months in the safety of old logs, buildings, caves or bridge overhangs. The hibernation period is the time when the bat is at its most vulnerable; being awakened prematurely can force bats to use up their stored fat reserves and starve. Even in the warmer months, most bats roost together during the day to sleep. (The largest known colony of bats consists of 20 million Brazilian free-tail bats living in Bracken Cave in central Texas.) Due to their low metabolic rate, bats can live up to thirty-five years. Female bats usually have only one or two offspring – called pups – a year. Although many bats mate in the fall, due to "delayed implantation," they do not physically become pregnant until the spring, giving birth in late spring to early summer. Gestation is anywhere from one month to two months and the females nurse their pups until they are able to fly. From that point on, the pup will follow their mothers, learning how to hunt on their own. Bats also possess a strong maternal instinct. Unlike baby birds, if a baby bat falls from its roost, the mother bat will do her best to rescue the infant, picking it up, returning it to the roost and attempting to nurse it back to health. Insect-eating bats in North America can consume anywhere from 600 to 1000 mosquito-sized insects in an hour. For this reason, they are an excellent indicator of the overall health of the ecosystem: the more bats in an area, the less pesticides are being used. It also means a better place to be for humans! Unfortunately, bats are falling victim to the ever-impending threat of urban sprawl. They are loosing their natural habitats on a daily basis. Since we need them and now, all of a sudden, they need us, why not invite them to come live in your neighborhood? |
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| Attracting Bats | |||||||||||||
| How to attract bats: 1.) Put a small pond in your backyard. Water attracts insects and insects attract bats. 2.) Leave natural nesting places undisturbed. If possible, leave dead and dying trees standing on your property. Bats love to roost in hollows and under loose and peeling bark. Some solitary roosting bats also choose to roost in live trees near the trunk, hidden from predators by the leaves. 3.) Plant a "bat garden." Night-blooming flowers (evening primrose, soapwart, nicotiana, and others) attract nectar-seeking night insects, as do certain aromatic herbs (chives, mint, marjoram, and lemon balm). Avoid using pesticides – let the bats do it for you! 4.) Leave a light on. Mercury vapor lights attract insects, and the bats will follow. 5.) Hang a bat house. Let them know they are welcome by offering them a place to stay! |
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| Want to learn more? Want to lend a hand? Check out Bat Conservation International online at www.batcon.org! | |||||||||||||
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