Help Save The Bats!

Bats are one of the most unique creatures on earth, the sole members of the order chiroptera, a term comprised of the Greek words for 'hand' and 'wing', so named because bats do not fly by flapping "their entire forelimbs, as birds do, but instead flap their spread out digits, which are very long and covered with a thin membrane." [1] Bats are the only mammals that can truly fly. Even so-called flying squirrels can really only glide.

Bats are also very important and useful members of the ecological system. For one thing, many bats eat insects, and so play a vital role in keeping the insect population in check. Yet so many myths about bats, and especially their portrayal in the media, usually in horror films, have turned them into objects of unreasonable fear.

Bats don't go around attacking people, nor is there a likelihood that one will ever get caught in your hair, due to their highly sophisticated sonar system of navigation known as echolocation. The majority of them don't drink blood either, and even vampire bats, which do drink blood, usually only drink the blood of animals, without harming them.

Now more then ever it is important that we educate people about the importance of bats to the ecological system as well as dispel these erroneous myths about them, due to the widespread decimation of bat populations from White Nose Syndrome.

Over the last five years or so bats all over the northeastern United States and now even as far north as Canada have been affected by this devastating plague, named for the presence of a white fungal growth around the muzzles and sometimes the wings of affected hibernating bats. The cause of this disease is still unknown, and it is spreading at an alarming rate. According to Wikipedia, this "poorly understood malady [is] associated with the deaths of more than a million bats." [2]

This is bound to have long-reaching detrimental effects on our ecosystem. After all, insects are more than just a minor annoyance. They also destroy crops, and the presence of bats is a much healthier and natural means of insect population control than human methods such as the use of harmful pesticides.

Much is being done by wildlife conservation groups and other organizations to address this concern, but there are things that ordinary people like us can do to help as well. One important way, which is one of the main reasons for this blog, is in spreading awareness of this threat and also helping to dispel myths and misconceptions about bats.

You can also donate to any of the following organizations:

Organization for Bat Conservation (The Bat Zone)

Bat Conservation International

The Wildlife Conservation & Education Center (NJ Batman)

Bat World Sanctuary

Thanks in advance for your help, and be sure to stop back here again for more updates on White Nose Syndrome and of course, lots of fun bat facts, stories, events, pictures, and videos.