Batty Bat (and friends)

Batty Bat and friends

Hey Guys, Wait up for me...!

HEY, someone just entered our cave (site)...!

Some people fear bats for the following reasons:

They are the mysterious animals that fly about at night
searching out and attacking human prey.
Bats are blind.
They get tangled in your hair.
They are dirty flying rodents who perform no services for us.

Nothing could be further from the truth.
Bats are our friends and our protectors!

Please enjoy this bat page and learn more about this
wonderful marvelous creature - Batty - The Bat.

OK, Let's jump onto the back of "Batty" for an amazing trip, Hang on... Here we go... !!!

A predator cruises through the night skies in search of prey, sending out twenty or more sonar signals per second and listening for the faint echo of a target. WARNING...!!! Suddenly, picking up a return signal it veers for the target. HANG ON, HERE WE GO...!!! Increasing both the speed and rapidity of the signals, it locks in on the target and adjusts its trajectory for the kill. ARM THE MISSLES...!!! But, the prey has developed a means of detecting the sonar and begins evasive maneuvers. LOCK ONTO TARGET...!!! The predator increases the signal rate to two hundred or more per second and dives for the target but at the last instant, in a surprise move, HANG ON...... the prey folds its wings and drops out of sight. RADAR SCREEN BLANK...!!! The predator swoops by, missing the target. MISSION ENDED. This is just one of the many exciting evening trips of Batty - The Bat. The mission was foiled by the prey’s early detection sophisticated sonar capabilities, but maybe you didn’t know that some insects have developed ears. Ears have been found in moths, lacewings and praying mantises. Bat research continues and ears may also be found in some species of beetles, another food source for bats. Let's continue on, but..., be careful of the flying dragon...!

dragon

Throughout history, people have associated bats with other, more frightful creatures of the night. As such, bats have endured centuries of unjustified abuse. While most medieval superstitions about bats have perished, some misconceptions surrounding these animals persist today. Let us get more information.

Over the last few decades, much has been learned about bats and how they help to keep our environment healthy. Many species of bats, such as those known as flying foxes, are also surprisingly appealing and intelligent. Ironically, though, bats continue to be among the most misunderstood and feared of all our wildlife.

This fear and ignorance have contributed to the almost total destruction of several bat species and threatened the existance of many others. Such losses can seriously harm ecosystems and reduce the quality of life for more living things, including humans. But with our help, bats can continue to function as one of nature's most beneficial creatures.

Bats are mammals, and like all other mammals, the females possess mammary glands, where milk is produced and fed to the young. Baby bats, called pups, are born alive and have to be taken care of for an extended period of time. The body of a bat is covered by hair, as is true of other mammals.

Despite the familiar expression, "blind as a bat," none of these creatures are truly sightless. Several species of bats can see better in dim light than we do as humans. Nearly all bats are nocturnal (active at night) or crepuscular (active during the twilight of dawn and dusk). To get around in the dark, many nocturnal bats rely on a sophisticated form of sonar known as echolocation for navigating and finding prey. Many bats, especially the crepuscular ones, have exceptionally good eyesight designed for low levels of light.

I wear glasses and eat my carrots every day...!
Rabbits like carrots too, but they cannot fly like I do...!

Bats fly, which does make them different from most mammals. Bats have modified hands and arms that serve as wings capable of sustained flight. They have been flitting across the night skies of the world, for some 50 million years now. Bats belong to the Chiropterea, which means "hand-wing". Species in this order are divided into two suborders. Megchiroptera, which includes the various species of flying foxes, and Microchiroptera. Flying foxes use echolocation, a kind of natural sonar for locating prey and other objects. Megachiropteran bats are found only in Europe, Asia, etc. Microchiropteran bats do echolocate and are a much more diverse and widely distributed group.

Bats are indeed beneficial to people. In many cultures, bats are a symbol of good luck and fortune. In our own western culture, this for the most part is not so. Many view bats as unclean, disease carrying, symbols of evil. In reality, bats are actually very gentle, and will only bite if attacked or threatened or improperly handled. They are no more likely to carry disease than a bird. Rabies, as with any other wild animal is a valid concern. Use caution if you must handle them, wearing gloves, and even better, have a rabies vaccination prior to handling. Fortunately, there is no reason to handle them.

During the daytime, bats sleep in caves, crevices, tree cavities, limbs, and branches of trees and man-made structures. Nearly all bats rest and sleep, or roost, hanging upside down by their hind feet. Bats do not need to expend energy to maintain this position—as a bat hangs, its own weight causes the claws to automatically grasp, firmly holding itself in place.

We just love hanging around...!

Bats are important pollinators of flowers and plants, including bananas, mangoes, cashews, dates, and figs. As predators of nocturnal insects, and distributors of seeds of many plants, bats are a crucial to ecosystems. More than 60 percent of bats eat insects. A bat can consume as many as 500 mosquitoes in an hour. Beetles account for more than a third of the diet of big brown bats, with flying ants, flies, crane flies, mayflies, stone flies, and other insects making up the rest. Consuming volumes of insects, they are worth their weight in gold, in many areas where humans are finally learning of the benefits. Fortunately for the bat, many humans are learning just how valuable they can be!

There are now organizations to assist in protecting bats, and in fact, more and more people are becoming concerned with the conservation of bats, through private as well as governmental organizations. The increased awareness is most certainly due to the efforts of numerous organizations that are on the internet, and they emphasize education, which is ultimately the key to conserving our bat friends.

You can invite bats to your own backyard and become active in bat conservation by using an artificial roost to attract bats. Bat houses are enjoyed by a variety of bat species that also use natural crevices and tree hollows. Even if the house is not used by bats, its presence causes visitors to ask about the house which provides the owner an excellent opportunity to educate friends about bats.

Bat houses are inexpensive and easy to build. You can buy these at garden centers, order them from conservation groups, or build your own. Visit your local library and read how to do it.

Batty Bat and friends

Thank you for visiting our cave. Please come again...!

Hanging around
Batty's friend

INSPIRING QUOTES

It's easy to smile when everything's fine and flows along like a song,
but the person worthwhile
is the one with a smile when everything goes wrong.
(Children's poem)

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