However, usually bats are not actually flying that close (it might seem like it because they’re flappy and hard to see). They may also be foraging around insects that are trying to bite you. I think this myth comes partly because sometimes if you are sitting outside where bats are foraging, they’re super curious and they may fly somewhat nearby to check out what you’re doing. “Studying them has a lot of unique challenges since they are super wily, can be really small, and they’re kind of tricky to find or observe.”Īlso, bats do not get stuck in people’s hair. “One thing I really enjoy about bats is that they totally play hard to get,” Wray says. It’s not a good idea to ever touch a bat without gloves (partly to protect the bat from our germs, too), but by simply treating them (and other wildlife) respectfully there is little risk of contracting diseases from them. Like most mammals, bats can carry rabies, but it’s actually pretty rare. I think the worst myth about bats is the myth that many of them carry rabies. So far, there have been no verified reports of such behavior. What’s the most ridiculous thing you’ve heard about bats?Ī new one that I just heard is that if you throw a marshmallow in the air at night, bats will come and catch it. It’s also not fair to think that only bats are vampires - insects are much more likely to feed on human blood, and in terms of other blood-feeding animals, there are also birds like the vampire finch (although, vampire finches don’t really bite humans). These species also much prefer to snack on animals like cows. No! There are only three bat species that are true “vampires” who actually feed on blood. Other bats use echolocation to create a highly accurate sound-based image of the world around them, but those guys can also see.īe honest. Some fruit-eating bats have very big, puppy-like eyes and they can see well even in the dark. Settle it once and for all: “blind as a bat” - true or false?įalse! Bats can totally see. Other bats use echolocation to create a highly accurate sound-based image of the world around them, but those guys can also see.” “Some fruit-eating bats have very big, puppy-like eyes and they can see well even in the dark. She doesn’t expect everyone to love bats like she does, but Wray hopes to help people understand how essential they are to our ecosystem. “Especially stickers - you can’t have enough bat stickers,” Wray says. It’s a good time to hang (get it?) with fellow bat lovers - and also stock up on bat craft supplies. Wray just got back from the North American Society for Bat Research conference in Kalamazoo, Michigan. 24–31, Bat Week is an international celebration designed to raise awareness about the need for bat conservation. What’s Bat Week? Wray, a doctoral candidate in wildlife ecology, is glad you asked. Her pinned tweet: “Live every week like it’s #batweek.” Illustration by Danielle Lamberson Philipp / College of Agricultural and Life Sciencesīats are flying throughout Amy Wray’s Twitter account. Which is very timely because a new species of horseshoe bat has just been described from one of our specimens held in the Museum collections.Amy Wray doesn’t expect everyone to love bats like she does, but she hopes to help people understand how essential they are to our ecosystem. As we wrote in our Going Batty post last year, curator Louise Tomsett will reveal more about the Museum’s collection of over 30,000 specimens of bats including the importance of their use in research and in the discovery of new species. There will also be an opportunity to see some of the specimens from the Museum’s collection. Batty crafts at the Bat Festival in 2014 Louise Tomsett, Curator of Mammals, showing specimens from the Museum collections You can discover many fascinating batty facts including how to help bats in your garden, the diet of bats and how to make a flappy bat. Our annual Bat Festival this year follows International Bat Night on 29-30 August. We’ll be teaming up with our partners Bat Conservation Trust and the London Bat Group to celebrate the wonderful world of bats.
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