Local wildlife rescuer debunks myths about bats

 Photo by Doug Grove (2007).  These pallid bats were using this bridge as a night roost.  Bridges serve as secure places to roost that are usually close to insect and water resources.  The camera is looking straight up into a crevice formed by two adjacent concrete girders so they are all looking down.

By Mitzi Brabb
Gazette Correspondent 

(Editor's note: Mitzi Brabb operates Wonders of the Wild, a Rim Country non-profit wildlife rescue organization.) 

There are a number of ecologists and researchers who believe that bats may be one of the most misunderstood animals known to man. From myths of blood-sucking varmints, to the stories of those who carry the extremely infectious disease of rabies, it might come as a surprise to learn that bats have received a bum rap, and are actually enormously important to the ecosystem.

Last year retired Arizona Game and Fish bat biologist Nancy Renison offered an evening of bat watching and listening at Green Valley Park to the public. She is known as the local bat expert who can dispel myths and misconceptions associated with bats.

Renison states that bats are the number one predator of night-flying insects; some 70 percent of the world’s bats are insect eaters or insectivores. In central Texas, home of the world’s largest bat colony, about 1,000 tons of insects are devoured each night.

As gruesome as it may seem, these farmer friendly creatures provide a safer, more efficient, and far less costly alternative to pesticides used on crops. Studies from the Ecological Society of America claim that these natural pest killers save farmers in Texas millions of dollars a year from insect damaged crops.

"There are 28 species of bats in Arizona,” said Renison. “We are second only to Texas, which has 32 of the largest and most diverse species of bats in the country.”

Many people fear the nocturnal flying mammals and carry an ongoing concern of them becoming entangled in their hair during the middle of the night. In fact, bats, like most living beings, are primarily interested in their next meal and many bat species are equipped with a built in sonar system that allows them to navigate. It is much like hearing our own echo, which is why their scientific sound-wave navigational system is referred to as echolocation.

Bats are difficult to see and hear at night, so special night vision equipment and acoustical devices are needed for researchers who work in the field. Renison has used these tools to demonstrate how to hear bats, and to count the number of bats passing by. By increasing the frequency of sound waves on acoustical monitoring equipment, one can actually hear the fluttering of bat wings as they pass by, and hear their calls to the wild.

For more information on bat facts, or for finding help with a bat problem, visit www.batrescue.org. You can also find helpful information on www.batconservation.org.

Bat Facts

o Bats are the only flying mammals. Flying squirrels only glide.
o There are 1,105 different species of bats in the world, making up about a quarter of all mammal species. There are 45 different species that live in the U.S. and Canada.
o Bats often live in dead trees, caves, bat houses, human buildings, rock crevices, and the underside of bridges. Some bats are solitary, mainly living in live trees.
o Most bats in the North America eat insects. As a matter of fact, one bat eats about 2,000 to 6,000 insects each night (consuming its entire weight in insects). Many of the insects they eat include agricultural crop pests including the tomato horned worm, corn earworm, and many kinds of beetles. Bats also eat annoying insects like flies, mosquitoes, and gnats.
o The majority of bat species give birth to one young (pup) each year. Size for size they are the slowest reproducing mammal in the world.
o Less than 0.5% of bats have rabies, and transmission risk from bats is extremely low.
o Bats trapped in homes just want to escape to the outside!
Information provided by www.batconservation.org