- Joined
- Mar 15, 2010
- Messages
- 903
so i've always had a little fondness for bats, i really get irritated with people who think they'll eat you or give you rabies.... really if you're going to blab about something at least know the truth of what you're blabbing about... anywyas:
my husband just HAD to stop at this cave this weekend (i have some claustrophobia issues, and i really didn't want to go, but he wanted to go so bad! and i just want you all to know, no matter how many times you hold your breath squeezing through a tight space, there WILL be air on the other side! trust me, i just endured it!) and i found out the saddest informaiton on the planet! you remember the great bee demise? it's happening to bats now! there has been a huge wave of bats infected with this nasty white fungus that causes them to wake up during hibernation, and then the fungus irritates them so much that they can't go back into hibernation so they fly out of the cave looking for food (insects) and either starve to death or freeze to death. it's so sad! some cave up on the northern east coast has completely lost every bat colony it had.
here are some great bat facts for those of you who don't know much about them:
-bats eat insects. this is good, unless you like mosquito bites.
-bats are very much like humans, they cluster in social colonies and some actually commit SUICIDE if left alone for extended periods of time
-vampire bats even adopt orphans, and they also keep a little bit of their food (blood) to take back to their "roosts" to share with other bats that were not fortunate enough to find food that night
-vampire bats do NOT kill livestock, and they're NOT going to attatch to your jugular and suck you dry. vampire bats actually make a small cut on an animal, spray an anti-coagulation solution into the cut of the animal, and lap up the blood that flows out of the wound. they've never bled an animal dry.
-bats are very important mammals in every part of the planet (besides antarctica), they are NOT rare, they're just nocturnal! so you never see them!
-bats are very clean animals by nature, they're like cats when it comes to cleaning themselves. therefore, they're not even half as dirty as the pigeon that landed on your car this morning.
-bats are the only flying mammals
-bats only have one baby a year, called a "pup"
-bats are STINKIN' CUTE! (well, some are pretty stinkin' ugly. but some are precious!)
(i found these next ones online, my font of personal knowledge has ended)
-there are more than 1,100 species of bats in the world
-nearly 40% of american bat species are now listed as endangered or in severe decline
-the smallest bat is the bumblebee bat, only 2 inches long! it is native to thailand, and listed as critically endangered due to severe loss of habitat.
-the largest bat is a giant flying fox, it's wing span is 6 feet long. it is a fruit bat and native to thailand
-bats are grouped into 2 main categories: megabats and microbats.
-megabats are the larger bats and they are the fruit eating bats
-most fruit-eating bats do not have echo-location
-microbats are generally much smaller, more world-wide, they eat
insects and most fit in the palm of your hand.
-there are 7 endangered bat species native to the united states
-pregnant mommy bats move to warmer regions and form nursery roosts with a lot of other mommy bats
-some bat species can live for 40 years
-There are millions of Mexican free-tailed bats that live in BCI's Bracken Cave in Central Texas. these bats eat up to 200 tons of insects each summer night
-Worldwide crop damage from the corn earworm moth (a favorite meal for the mexican freetailed bat) is estimated at more than $1 billion a year, and recent research concluded that mexican freetail bats are so effective that they save farmers in south-central Texas up to $1.7 million a year in pesticide costs
loss of habitat is such a killer for every animal in the world today, and bat houses are such a great way to help keep these cute little guys around! you can buy bat houses online or you can build your own, there is a good website that can teach you what bats look for in a roost and how to build your own here:
http://www.nwf.org/Get-Outside/Outd...ildlife/Gardening-Tips/Build-a-Bat-House.aspx
it also pitches you a good story about why you should build them. i'm going to build my own and wait until we move to the country and put them out!
for those of us who want to grow organic food for our TORTOISES.... don't forget about what i said.... BATS EAT BUGS! i'm going to put a whole bunch all around my pumpkin patch.
if any of this post intrigued you and you want to learn more about these precious little mammals, this website is a good place to start:
http://www.batcon.org/
happy reading! protect the bats!!
my husband just HAD to stop at this cave this weekend (i have some claustrophobia issues, and i really didn't want to go, but he wanted to go so bad! and i just want you all to know, no matter how many times you hold your breath squeezing through a tight space, there WILL be air on the other side! trust me, i just endured it!) and i found out the saddest informaiton on the planet! you remember the great bee demise? it's happening to bats now! there has been a huge wave of bats infected with this nasty white fungus that causes them to wake up during hibernation, and then the fungus irritates them so much that they can't go back into hibernation so they fly out of the cave looking for food (insects) and either starve to death or freeze to death. it's so sad! some cave up on the northern east coast has completely lost every bat colony it had.
here are some great bat facts for those of you who don't know much about them:
-bats eat insects. this is good, unless you like mosquito bites.
-bats are very much like humans, they cluster in social colonies and some actually commit SUICIDE if left alone for extended periods of time
-vampire bats even adopt orphans, and they also keep a little bit of their food (blood) to take back to their "roosts" to share with other bats that were not fortunate enough to find food that night
-vampire bats do NOT kill livestock, and they're NOT going to attatch to your jugular and suck you dry. vampire bats actually make a small cut on an animal, spray an anti-coagulation solution into the cut of the animal, and lap up the blood that flows out of the wound. they've never bled an animal dry.
-bats are very important mammals in every part of the planet (besides antarctica), they are NOT rare, they're just nocturnal! so you never see them!
-bats are very clean animals by nature, they're like cats when it comes to cleaning themselves. therefore, they're not even half as dirty as the pigeon that landed on your car this morning.
-bats are the only flying mammals
-bats only have one baby a year, called a "pup"
-bats are STINKIN' CUTE! (well, some are pretty stinkin' ugly. but some are precious!)
(i found these next ones online, my font of personal knowledge has ended)
-there are more than 1,100 species of bats in the world
-nearly 40% of american bat species are now listed as endangered or in severe decline
-the smallest bat is the bumblebee bat, only 2 inches long! it is native to thailand, and listed as critically endangered due to severe loss of habitat.
-the largest bat is a giant flying fox, it's wing span is 6 feet long. it is a fruit bat and native to thailand
-bats are grouped into 2 main categories: megabats and microbats.
-megabats are the larger bats and they are the fruit eating bats
-most fruit-eating bats do not have echo-location
-microbats are generally much smaller, more world-wide, they eat
insects and most fit in the palm of your hand.
-there are 7 endangered bat species native to the united states
-pregnant mommy bats move to warmer regions and form nursery roosts with a lot of other mommy bats
-some bat species can live for 40 years
-There are millions of Mexican free-tailed bats that live in BCI's Bracken Cave in Central Texas. these bats eat up to 200 tons of insects each summer night
-Worldwide crop damage from the corn earworm moth (a favorite meal for the mexican freetailed bat) is estimated at more than $1 billion a year, and recent research concluded that mexican freetail bats are so effective that they save farmers in south-central Texas up to $1.7 million a year in pesticide costs
loss of habitat is such a killer for every animal in the world today, and bat houses are such a great way to help keep these cute little guys around! you can buy bat houses online or you can build your own, there is a good website that can teach you what bats look for in a roost and how to build your own here:
http://www.nwf.org/Get-Outside/Outd...ildlife/Gardening-Tips/Build-a-Bat-House.aspx
it also pitches you a good story about why you should build them. i'm going to build my own and wait until we move to the country and put them out!
for those of us who want to grow organic food for our TORTOISES.... don't forget about what i said.... BATS EAT BUGS! i'm going to put a whole bunch all around my pumpkin patch.
if any of this post intrigued you and you want to learn more about these precious little mammals, this website is a good place to start:
http://www.batcon.org/
happy reading! protect the bats!!