Bats in the Belfry?
Bats will get tangled in your hair. Bats are blind. For those homeowners who find bats in the attic, they’re a sign of bad luck. Their tendency to suck human blood demonizes them, and they love bacon.
You may have heard one or more of these myths, and while a few can be anecdotally traced, none are true.
Bats loom large in the imagination, but their amazing physical and functional adaptations, their vital ecological role, and their fight for survival often go unnoticed. They are so fascinating and diverse that they complicate our ability to conceptualize them in any single way, and this makes them an easy target for hearsay. One Native American legend says that in a lacrosse match, the four-legged animals wouldn’t let the squirrel and mouse join because they were too small. The birds stretched the skin of the squirrel and fashioned wings out of a drum head for the mouse — and the flying squirrel and bat were born with great agility that made them heroes of the game. But a lot of people find them less-than heroic, creepy or haunted, maybe even assume that they are all rabies-ridden — I’ve certainly been guilty of that. So, why the myths, fables, and misconceptions? Because we just don’t know enough about them.
Bats are the world’s only flying mammal, and there are over 1,300 species! They’re one of few mammals whose forelimbs are oriented to the side, making them similar to humans! This skeletal structure allows them to fold their wings to their sides and release them when they want to fly. They are also frequent pollinators of agave — for you tequila lovers — and are responsible for seed dispersal of over 300 plant species.
These creatures come in all different sizes. Some weigh an adorable 3 grams, while others have 5-foot wing spans to accommodate weights far heavier. Smaller bats are more common; they have larger ears, smaller eyes, and elaborate facial structures. Because smaller bats can’t carry the weight of larger eyes, they rely on their ears and textured faces to maximize sound reception, a skill they’ve adapted for catching prey. And that doesn’t mean they’re blind! Their eyes are still functional, just not the most effective tool they can use.
Smaller bats use echolocation to trap their prey. When echolocating, they generate ultrasound waves in the throat and release them through the mouth in sort of a toothy hiss. This doesn’t mean the animal has rabies, it’s just looking on Yelp for nearby restaurants, so-to-speak. The ultrasound waves are too high-pitched for the average human ear to detect, which is intentional because the waves must reflect the size of the prey in order for the predator to receive sound waves back. If they spot a potentially yummy snack, they approach the bug from behind, curl their legs below the animal, and completely envelop it.
Unfortunately, our furry friends are in trouble. Four species — the Indiana, Virginia big-eared, northern long-eared, and gray bats — are endangered right here in the Mid-Atlantic. Many other species are hurting from changes to the environment as well. Their habitats are changing, and we are seeing it affect patterns of bat migration. Bats thought to only live in the south and southwest are now showing up in Virginia.
Most importantly, they face a deadly disease known as white-nose syndrome. Leslie Sturges, president of the Save Lucy Campaign, came to Defenders headquarters to speak about this issue. Her campaign promotes awareness of white-nose by supporting research on the issue and engaging a diverse community of bat advocates. She is also a certified rehabilitator, taking in bats found in homes and carports, and rejuvenating them to be released back into the wild to support the wild population.
The disease, which started in a single New York cave in 2005, has now spread west to the Dakotas, with additional exposures in Washington state, almost certainly facilitated by humans. Leslie says that at this point, white-nose will very soon pass the Rockies, if it hasn’t already done so. She’s disappointed that, if it were different set of animals affected, more people would be “up in arms.” Rightfully so, I think. Remember the outrage when bald eagle eggs across the country were crushed under the weight of incubating parents and the population was plummeting?
We can help by being a voice for these animals. Just taking the time to learn and educate others about them can go a long way. Less than one percent of bats carry rabies and the disease can only be transmitted through a biting incident, not a sighting. If we effectively raise these concerns and continue to educate people around us, the law could be reformed.
And education is more than just debunking some myth you overheard at middle school science camp. It’s about exploring what makes bats unique and raising awareness for the challenges that they face. White-nose syndrome is currently the most pressing issue, and fighting it is going to require that people know it is a problem killing our wildlife.
So, bats won’t get tangled in your hair. They are not blind, ubiquitously rabid vampires, or bacon-enthusiasts. They are a critter that needs our help.
