Creature Feature: Gone Batty

Happy October everyone! In honor of Halloween coming up, this post is all about bats!

Why are Bats Cool? 
Two words: FLYING. MAMMALS. Bats are the only mammal capable of true flight. And no, I'm not counting those flying squirrels, because that's gliding (impostors!). Not only can bats fly, they also are capable of echolocation. By emitting a sound, and hearing what those sound waves bounce off of, a bat can determine the size and location of objects in their path, and even how fast they are flying! Sounds crazy right?

Remember this guy from Ferngully? Man I miss Robin Williams....

There are nearly 1,000 bat species worldwide, and they can be found everywhere except polar regions and extreme desserts. With such a wide range, it's no wonder they are so popular in movies and TV shows. Most famously, of course, is Batman.

I laughed harder at this than I care to admit

Why are Bats in Trouble?
Nine bat species in the USA are listed as Threatened or Endangered. The biggest problem for bats is White Nose Syndrome, and I know I've mentioned this before in an earlier post. Populations have declined an estimated 80% since the disease erupted in 2007, and, not to be Captain Obvious, but that's an alarming rate (notice the bold typeface). Research is still ongoing, but the current belief if that this white fungus infects the muzzle and nose of hibernating bats, causing them to wake up itching. When they wake up, they burn precious energy stored as fat, and once they do go back to hibernating, the remaining fat is not enough to get them through the season. Their reproductive biology doesn't help- most bats only give birth to one pup at a time, which is the slowest reproduction rate for a mammal of their size.

Poor Count won't have many bats left to count with (anyone else remember the "Batty Bat" song?)  

Why Should We Care? 
Bats make up one quarter of all mammal species on Earth! And although there is a lot of press about vampire bats drinking blood from other animals, most bats eat other things like nectar and fruit. More importantly though, are the bats that eat insects. In fact, 70% of bats consume insects, which is great for pest control!! One little brown bat can devour 1000 mosquitoes in just 1 hour! Are you looking for a new favorite animal? Cause anything that eats that many mosquitoes is pretty high on my list. Not only is that awesome for people like me who get eaten alive, it's great for our economy. Insect control provided by bats is estimated to value between 4 and 50 BILLION dollars to our country's agriculture. Besides eating insects, they spread seeds and pollen, help to fertilize soil with their guano, and are useful in medical research (i.e. vampire bats' anticoagulant comically named Draculin). 

Daaaawww look at the baby bats!!!! They're so cute!!!

What Can I Do to Help Bats? 
Get involved! I've said it before, you don't have to go out and do something gigantic to help animals, even a small action can help! Tweet about how cool bats are (use #savethebats), read up on White Nose Syndrome, or give your friend an Adopted Bat because that does a lot more than a thoughtless gift card. You can get a bat box and invite bats to your own backyard, or contact your local parks about setting some up! 

Here are some really useful links: 
Organization for Bat Conservation
Wildlife Defenders
Adopt a Bat 
Set Up a Bat House
Plant a Bat-Friendly Garden

He is toad-ally screwed! Ha! Get it? Ok, ok, stop throwing tomatoes, I'm ending the post now...

Thanks for reading guys!!