6 Bat Myths Busted: Are They Really Blind?

[jchima]

Bats tend to get off on the wrong wing with us humans. So in honor of National Bat Week, we're clearing up some myths about the world's only flying mammal.

For starters, bats are not nefarious creatures, as they're often portrayed around Halloween, said Rob Mies, executive director of the Michigan-based Organization for Bat Conservation.

They're actually altruistic, Mies said, and have been known to share food with other bats. Vampire bats, for instance, will regurgitate blood for bats who didn't get to feed.

National Geographic caught up with Mies at the Orlando Science Center's Bats: Myths and Mysteries exhibit—which was supported by his organization—to debunk some of the most persistent bat legends.



They vant to suck your blood.

Vampire bats weigh only two ounces, and while these Central and South American natives have been known to bite people, they primarily feed on cattle in a way Mies compares to a mosquito.

"They lick about a spoon's worth of blood, and have an anticlotting enzyme in their saliva that helps keep the blood flowing," he said. (See "Vampire Bats Have Vein Sensors.")

That enzyme is being used to develop anti-blood-clotting medication called ... wait for it ... draculin.

They're "blind as a bat."

This one is particularly untrue: Bigger bats "can see three times better than humans," Mies said.

They're also sensory masters: The large ears of small bats help them echolocate, or use sound waves that bounce off objects like a natural sonar....

Source: 6 Bat Myths Busted Are They Really Blind - eReporter

 

[Pogo]

We love bats. They eat mosquitoes.
Bon appetit.

 

[Asclepias]

Bats are amazing animals.

 

[Delta4Embassy]

We love bats. They eat mosquitoes.
Bon appetit.

When I was working dog watch in Austin, Texas I learned a lot about bats. Eat several pounds of mosquitos each every night or something like that. Steve Irwin (Crocodile Hunter RIP) called them flying foxes. Better more loveable name.

 

[Delta4Embassy]

Someone here at the apartments has at least one for a pet. We know because it got out recently and was flying through the hallways scaring people to death. I thought it was funny as heck.

 

[Asclepias]

I always wanted one but the wife would never let that happen. We went night fishing one time for catfish and she was ok until I told her the birds that were flying around us at night were actually bats.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

Thanks very much for posting this. I've rehabbed many bats and really love working with them. Of all the bats I've handled, not one ever acted aggressively.

There was one little charmer who had a fractured wing which I set with the implant of a tiny needle. He couldn't fly so I would hand feed him the most gawd awful glop with a dropper. When he was full, he would very suddenly come running/crawling straight across the table at me, jump onto my front, climb straight up and under my shirt collar. He would then do this little flip and hang upside down from under my collar. I always had to be mindful of him there because, if I would let him, he would ride around with me.

It was SO funny because the first time he did that, I was just sure he was going for my throat! Later, as I got to know more bats, I learned they really are very sociable and interesting little guys.

As much as I love them and depending on where you live, they can be RVS (rabies vector species). If you see one on the ground, leave him alone. I hate to see one die needlessly but there is nothing worth contracting rabies.

I've had two post-exposure rabies series vaccines and one was from a rabid bat. (The other was a tiny skunk who put a pin hole in my finger.) The vaccines are extremely expensive although not as miserable as they used to be. Unless the protocol has changed, its still a month long series of shots.

For anyone who is interested, see and learn a lot more about bats here -

http://batworld.org/

Bat World Sanctuary Facebook

 

[Luddly Neddite]

I always wanted one but the wife would never let that happen. We went night fishing one time for catfish and she was ok until I told her the birds that were flying around us at night were actually bats.

We have a lot of caves near us. Nothing nicer than sitting out on the deck and watching the bats come out pouring out of the caves to nom the skeeters. A glass of wine and the fire flies complete the picture - sort of a weird variation on The Rubaiyat - " jug of wine, a loaf of bread and thou".