Many people think of bats as disease carrying, symbols of evil. This couldn't be further from the truth. Bats are no more likely to carry disease than the average bird and are actually very gentle creatures. In fact bats are an extremely important part of our southwest desert ecosystem. Did you know that a single little brown bat can eat over 600 mosquitoes in less than an hour and that the saguaro and organ pipe cactus rely on bats for pollination?
All bats do not carry rabies. It is important to note that all animals can get rabies. Only one out of every 200 bats ever get the disease. Even when infected with rabies, bats will only bite in self-defense.
Some people believe bats are blind. They're not. Also, they do not get tangled in women's hair and very seldom ever transmit disease to other living creatures. They do however eat tons and tons of harmful insects that feed on food crops.
If people don't have respect for bats, they could easily become extinct. Bats don't have a lot of babies like rabbits and mice do. Mother bats have only one baby each year.
More than half of all American bats are threatened or endangered. Bats in other countries are in trouble too. If bats are going to survive it is important for us to learn about them and respect what they do for our environment.
All of these bats live in Arizona!
 Long Eared Myotis |
 Western Mastiff Bat |
 Mexican Free-tailed Bat |
 Unknown bat at hummingbird feeder. |
 Spotted Bat |
 Big Free-tailed Bat |
Cool Bat Links:
Bat Quest - Click here to test your knowledge and learn more about bats!
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