Thursday, September 1, 2011

Bats Overhead!


First I want to thank all of you for participating in my "3 Quick Questions" post. It was so nice to get that little glimpse into your lives and get to know my fellow bloggers and readers a little better. I especially enjoyed hearing about your latest projects.

Now, on to today's subject which is about bats. Bats are nothing new to me since I work with wildlife at the clinic but last night was my first experience with them flying over my head. Normally they are handed to me in a box or a bucket, and they are usually orphaned or injured. But last night I took Bubba (the cute little guy in the picture above) potty and I went out with him like I usually do after dusk because I'm afraid of coyotes getting him. There they were, flying around my backyard like they owned the place! So creepy!!!

I though it would be a perfect opportunity to share a couple of facts about the little guys. There are a lot of misconceptions about them so I gathered some information to share. Did you know:

1. Bats are very clean animals and are constantly grooming themselves.
2. In Indonesia they have fruit bats (flying foxes) that have a wingspan of almost 6 feet.
3. There are over 1200 known species of bats. Most are small enough to fit in the palm of your hand.
4. One little brown bat (myotis) can eat up to 1000 mosquitoes in an hour.
5. Almost 40% of American bat species are in severe decline or endangered.
6. Their wings are actually skin that is stretched over their "fingers."
7. Bats are NOT big spreaders of rabies like people think.

8 comments:

  1. You just debunked everything I thought about bats!
    Bubba is super precious

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  2. Very interesting! I used to have a cat that caught bats...and anything else that flew, crawled, or slithered.

    In '06' we went to Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico, and at sunset over 100,000,000 bats fly out of the cave. It was amazing!

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  3. Your little Bubba is so cute :) I'll take one of those brown bats...I hate mosquitoes!

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  4. I like the fact that bats eat mosquitoes! I've had a few fly at my head before, and it's very disconcerting, even if I know they won't actually hurt me.

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  5. We love bats and owls here....and I'd love to borrow your puppy for a little lap time snuggle...sheesh, what a cutie

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  6. Sher,

    Do you know anything about how to build a bat house? I checked on the internet and if I can find it, I think I'm going to buy one. I need something because mosquitoes seem to think that I am dessert. We are having a drought and I'm still getting bit!! Been thinking about how to put bat house and owl house on the same pole.
    chatterfromtexas.blogspot.com
    www.notecardsandphotosbytheresa.com

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  7. Hey Sher,

    First of all, your little guy is adorable. A yorkie or a silky?

    Argh, bats...I know they really cannot hurt you but ow, after having them fly around my house a few times, I'm terrified. Really cool though that you get to work with them.

    Have a lovely and safe holiday weekend.

    Ruth

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  8. interesting facts about the bats but I think they would still creep me out if they were flying over my head

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