BATS! Ya gotta love bats

[Luddly Neddite]

This photo is from a bat rehabber -

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Writings-Of-A-Wildlife-Carer/446153808795975?fref=photo

I have photos of me setting a bat's fractured wing and of him eating like crazy. They're very dear little creatures, very gentle. I've rehabbed many and never had one be the least bit aggressive.

One of my favorites would eat his fill and then do that funny little crawl-walk-run across the counter and then jump onto my chest and climb up to neck where he would duck under my collar and flip upside down. If I would let him, he'd stay there, just riding around and watching.

The first time he did that, it almost gave me a heart attack!

Lots more photos at that link above.

 

[Sunni Man]

How much is the going rate for rabies shots today? .....

 

[Mr. H.]

Bats is cool.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

How much is the going rate for rabies shots today? .....

I've had to have post exposure rabies vac's twice and they're very expensive. The injections are very different from the painful belly shots. The first day is the worst at about $5000 for four different injections and hurts like crazy. Then, its once a week for three more weeks and they're just plain ole shots.

While its true that most bats are not rabid, its never worth taking a chance. If I had the choice of picking up a bat off the ground without gloves or leaving him be, I'd walk away every time.

A few years ago, the bat protocol was changed by the federal government to include the air around the bat. Reason is they wash, much like cats do so its theoretically possible for the virus to be airborne around the animal. That means that protective leather gloves are not considered to be sufficient protection.

Bottom line here is that a bat in the air is not dangerous. A bat on the ground should be considered possibly rabid. Killing the bat or putting him in the trash is a good way to spread the virus. Best thing to do is just walk away.

If you believe he's in a place where he could contaminate or be be eaten by dogs, etc, call your local animal control.

Rabies is more common in some areas than others. When I lived in Tucson, every single bat was tested. Where I live now, rabies is almost nonexistent. Bat do far more good than most animals. We need to protect them.

 

[Sunni Man]

A cool tourist attraction in Austin, TX. is the bat caves.

People stand outside the cave entrance during the summer evenings at dusk and watch the estimated 2-3 million bats emerge and fly off into the night. ......

 

[Mr. H.]

Isn't it illegal to kill bats?

 

[Luddly Neddite]

A cool tourist attraction in Austin, TX. is the bat caves.

People stand outside the cave entrance during the summer evenings at dusk and watch the estimated 2-3 million bats emerge and fly off into the night. ......

WE sit out on our deck overlooking the lake and watch the bats pour out of the caves just up the shore from us.

Sometimes, they'll swoop down so close you can feel the breeze from their wings.

 

[R.C. Christian]

They were very handy setting off incendiary devices over Japan in WWII.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

Isn't it illegal to kill bats?

Some bats have federal protection, other are protected by state laws. Check your state.

As usual, the UK is way ahead of us on this -

http://www.bats.org.uk/pages/bats_and_the_law.html

In Britain all bat species and their roosts are legally protected, by both domestic and international legislation.
This means you will be committing a criminal offence if you:

Deliberately capture, injure or kill a bat
Intentionally or recklessly disturb a bat in its roost or deliberately disturb a group of bats
Damage or destroy a bat roosting place (even if bats are not occupying the roost at the time)
Possess or advertise/sell/exchange a bat (dead or alive) or any part of a bat
Intentionally or recklessly obstruct access to a bat roost

 

[Luddly Neddite]

They were very handy setting off incendiary devices over Japan in WWII.

Only to ignorant revisionists.

Brilliant Mistakes: The Bat Bomb | Defense Media Network

To advance military capabilities, nothing works better than an innovative idea that hasn’t been tried before – sometimes. Ever since humankind walked out of caves and developed longbows, the stirrup, gunpowder and the airplane, brilliance and innovation, whether by accident or intent, have made militaries progressively more lethal. Sometimes, however, what seems a brilliant idea turns out to be a big blunder. “Brilliant Mistakes” is our ongoing series about ideas, weapons, tactics and strategies that didn’t work even after being perceived as the next giant step forward.

Enter the topic of bats and bombs.

Read the rest at the link.

An actual “bat bomb,” which housed the bats with their attached incendiary devices. Trays were stacked vertically within the bomb-shaped container. When the tail-mounted propeller spun enough times to “arm” the bomb, the sides of the bomb disengaged and fell away, freeing the bats, and the remaining assembly descended beneath a parachute. Photo from Bat Bomb: World War II’s Other Secret Weapon, by Jack Couffer, University of Texas Press, 1992

 

[Mr. H.]

We kept a bat house or two when we lived in the country.

When we were kids, we'd put some sand in a sock, tie a knot, and toss it in the air. The bats would follow them.

 

[R.C. Christian]

They were very handy setting off incendiary devices over Japan in WWII.

Only to ignorant revisionists.

Brilliant Mistakes: The Bat Bomb | Defense Media Network

To advance military capabilities, nothing works better than an innovative idea that hasn’t been tried before – sometimes. Ever since humankind walked out of caves and developed longbows, the stirrup, gunpowder and the airplane, brilliance and innovation, whether by accident or intent, have made militaries progressively more lethal. Sometimes, however, what seems a brilliant idea turns out to be a big blunder. “Brilliant Mistakes” is our ongoing series about ideas, weapons, tactics and strategies that didn’t work even after being perceived as the next giant step forward.

Enter the topic of bats and bombs.

Read the rest at the link.

An actual “bat bomb,” which housed the bats with their attached incendiary devices. Trays were stacked vertically within the bomb-shaped container. When the tail-mounted propeller spun enough times to “arm” the bomb, the sides of the bomb disengaged and fell away, freeing the bats, and the remaining assembly descended beneath a parachute. Photo from Bat Bomb: World War II’s Other Secret Weapon, by Jack Couffer, University of Texas Press, 1992

You should be thanking me. You actually learned something because I piss you off.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

They were very handy setting off incendiary devices over Japan in WWII.

Only to ignorant revisionists.

Brilliant Mistakes: The Bat Bomb | Defense Media Network



Read the rest at the link.

An actual “bat bomb,” which housed the bats with their attached incendiary devices. Trays were stacked vertically within the bomb-shaped container. When the tail-mounted propeller spun enough times to “arm” the bomb, the sides of the bomb disengaged and fell away, freeing the bats, and the remaining assembly descended beneath a parachute. Photo from Bat Bomb: World War II’s Other Secret Weapon, by Jack Couffer, University of Texas Press, 1992

You should be thanking me. You actually learned something because I piss you off.

You shouldn't get the idea that you know something others don't cuz, this is pretty common knowledge.

 

[R.C. Christian]

Google is a powerful thing huh?

 

[Mr. H.]

Only to ignorant revisionists.

Brilliant Mistakes: The Bat Bomb | Defense Media Network



Read the rest at the link.

You should be thanking me. You actually learned something because I piss you off.

You shouldn't get the idea that you know something others don't cuz, this is pretty common knowledge.

I think we've gotten the idea that you know everything.

Give it a rest.

 

[R.C. Christian]

He/she/it or whatever is right though. Didn't work so well as a reliable weapon.

 

[Claudette]

This photo is from a bat rehabber -

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Writings-Of-A-Wildlife-Carer/446153808795975?fref=photo

I have photos of me setting a bat's fractured wing and of him eating like crazy. They're very dear little creatures, very gentle. I've rehabbed many and never had one be the least bit aggressive.

One of my favorites would eat his fill and then do that funny little crawl-walk-run across the counter and then jump onto my chest and climb up to neck where he would duck under my collar and flip upside down. If I would let him, he'd stay there, just riding around and watching.

The first time he did that, it almost gave me a heart attack!

Lots more photos at that link above.

I love bats. These little mammals eat pounds of mosquitos every night. Gotta love an animal who eats those little nasties.

Bats are great to have around. They eat loads of insects.