Happy Halloween friends! Hard to believe another month is over and that we are about to be thrust into the holiday season whether we’re ready or not.
If you ask anyone what the creatures of Halloween are, I bet they’d answer BAT or SPIDER. Everywhere you look you’ll see decorations including both animals. And I bet many people could not tell you much about these animals other than that they are scary. When you get to know them they’re not really scary at all though and both provide invaluable services including controlling insect populations. The more than 15 MILLION bats of Bracken Cave, in Texas eat 100-200 TONS of insects EVERY NIGHT!!! That’s a lot of money they save farmers! One bat the size of your hand can eat more than 1000 mosquitoes, or mosquito-sized insects in ONE HOUR! We need to welcome these amazing creatures with open arms and do whatever we can to protect their habitats.
Most of the things people know about bats are in fact myths. Like that bats are blind. They’re not. They have eyes and can see, though many rely on echolocation to find their way in the dark. Or that they carry rabies. Less than one half of a percent will contract rabies. Or that they suck your blood. Of 1200+ species, only 3 feed on blood, and those live in Latin America, usually feeding on birds or livestock, the animal not even knowing it provided a meal. Or that they’re dirty. They’re not, in fact they groom themselves regularly, just like cats.
In honor of Halloween, I’ve uploaded some bat photos, from world-famous bat biologist and photographer extraordinaire, and my hero, Dr. Merlin Tuttle.
Here are a few bats from around the world:
Did you think all bats were black? Which one is your favorite? Did you know there was such variety?
Want to know how Merlin Tuttle makes these amazing photos? Then you might want to check out his book, called The Secret Lives of Bats, My Adventures with the World’s Most Misunderstood Animals.
I hope you have a safe Halloween and that you’ll help me dispel some of the bat myths. Next time someone says they’re blind as a bat, maybe remind them that bats aren’t blind!
Amazing photos of these beautiful creatures!
Yes, Merlin is an AMAZING photographer!!! He trains the bats, like we train our dogs.