Fear of things we do not understand is a well-documented aspect of human behavior and that is the problem faced by bats. Numerous myths and superstitions have persisted because the truth about bats is not commonly known. Health concerns that we should have, and cautions we should observe for bats, are the same as those we should apply to most wild animals. Are you aware that ONLY 1/2 OF 1% OF BATS CARRY RABIES? That does not mean you should handle them, they will bite because they are afraid of you. However, they are truly gentle nonaggressive beneficial creatures. Worldwide, bats play an essential role in keeping populations of night-flying insects in balance. Just one bat can catch hundreds of insects in an hour. Large colonies of bats catch tons of insects nightly, including beetle and moth species that cost American farmers and foresters billions of dollars annually. They also catch mosquitoes in your back yard! The 20 million free-tailed bats from Bracken Cave in central Texas eat more than 200 tons of insects in a single mid-summer evening! Bat fossils have been found that date back approximately 50 million years. Surprisingly, the bats of that ancient period very closely resembled those we know today. Here are a few "Bat Facts" that may surprise you! Bats are such unique mammals that scientists have placed them in a group of their own, the Chiroptera, which means hand-wing. Like humans, bats give birth to poorly developed young and nurse them from a pair of pectoral breasts. The nearly one thousand kinds of bats amount to approximately a quarter of all mammal species and they are found everywhere except in the most extreme desert and polar regions. Most bats communicate and navigate with high-frequency sounds. Using sound alone, bats can "see" everything but color. In total darkness they can detect obstacles as fine as a human hair. The sophistication of their unique echolocation system surpasses current scientific understanding. On a watt-per-watt, ounce-per-ounce basis it has been estimated to be literally billions of times more efficient than any similar system developed by humans. Bats are not blind and many have excellent vision. Bats carefully groom themselves. They are among the cleanest of animals and are also exceptionally resistant to disease. Bats, for their size, are the slowest reproducing mammals on earth. On average mother bats rear only one young per year. Some do not give birth until they are two or more years old. Exceptionally long-lived, a few survive for more than 34 years. The seed dispersal and pollination activities of fruit and nectar eating bats are vital to the survival of rain forests. Seeds dropped by tropical bats account for up to 95% of forest regrowth on cleared land. Night blooming plants and trees depend on nectar eating bats for pollination. An excellent example is the baobab tree of eastern Africa that is so important to the survival of other kinds of wildlife it is referred to as the "Tree of Life." Studies of bats have contributed to the development of navigational aids for the blind, birth control and artificial insemination techniques, vaccine production and drug testing, and a better understanding of low-temperature surgical procedures. Bats are depicted as heroes in some Pacific Island legends. In China they are held in high esteem as omens of good luck and happiness.

For more information on Bats and organizations supporting them, we highly recommend the following Links. Bat World Sancturay & Educational Center Bat Conservation International