Are Bats Dangerous? The True Story of Bats.

The Truth About Bats

I fly through the night, watching over your world. I am a hidden protector, a mysterious guardian, a dark knight.

I'm...

Okay, fine. I'm not Batman.

I'm just a bat.

But just like him, I’m often misunderstood. People think I'm strange, scary and dangerous. If they only knew my story though, I would be cheered as a real hero.

When people think about bats, many imagine vampires who want to taste their blood. But in reality, out of over 1200 species of bats, only three sucks blood. Even though these bats mostly feed on cattle, out of these three, only one prefers the blood of mammals. Maybe this doesn't sound that impressive. But vampire bats can get big help to humans. A chemical found in the saliva of the vampire bats called 'desmoteplase' helps to break blood clots and is being tested by recovering stroke victims.

Bats Contributes in Pest Control

Out of the left 1000+ breeds of bats, around 70% feed on insects. These 70% species of bats help control the real vampires: mosquitos, whose disgusting bites are not only irritating but spread diseases like West-Nile and Dengue virus. A lone little-brown-bat can eat a thousand moths each hour, and a single colony of Mexican free-tailed bats can vanish several tons of insects in just one night.

In the US alone, these bats contribute an estimated 3.7 billion dollars’ worth of free pest control. This helps farmers and benefits everyone who eats the foods that they grow.

Bats Pollination

Fruit bats, also known as megabats due to their large size, are important for plant pollination, specifically bat pollination. While feeding on nectar, these bats travel between flowers and transport seeds and pollen that help plants reproduce. In Southeast Asia, for example, the only pollinator of the durian fruit is the cave-nectar bat. Other bats pollinate fruits like mangoes, peaches, bananas, and the agave plant. Over 300 fruit species depend on bat pollination and without them, many of our food plants wouldn't be able to give the tasty fruits we enjoy.

Bats are Not Blind

Other than being heroes of the ecosystem, bats have their own unique utility belts. They are the only mammal capable of true flight and thus have been a source of inspiration for the design of flying robots. Also, a type of biological sonar called Echolocation is used by bats to navigate, hunt prey in dark and to avoid obstacles. Although there is a popular misunderstanding that bats can't see, in reality, all bat species have sight. In fact, some have even adapted large eyes to see better in dim lights.

Most people panic of getting infected by bats, and think that, like other animals, bats can carry diseases such as rabies. In reality, less than half of one per-cent (0.5%) of all bats carry this virus. This is about the same chance as getting the heads on a coin flip eight times in a row. The perception that bats are often diseased may come from the fact that sick bats, that are unable to fly and show unusual behaviour, are likely to be encountered by people during the daytime.

Bats Need to be Protected

So a good step to protect ourselves is to protect bats as well. Protecting their habitats and decreasing the risk of their surprise greetings. In North America, bats are endangered by a fungal disease called White-Nose syndrome. This infection causes them to wake up while hibernating during winter. Unable to find food, these bats use energy twice as fast as healthy bats and eventually starve to death. Climate change and habitat loss also affected bat populations. In January 2014, a record heatwave in Australia caused death of over a hundred thousand bats. Bats worldwide are threatened by the devastation of places including mangrove swamps, old-growth forests, and of course, bat caves.

So even though the bat is the hero of the story, he is the one who needs to be saved. And now that you know the true story, you can learn how to protect such heroic animals.

Inhibit the use of chemicals and products which can harm bats. Avoid stepping into caves where you may disturb hibernating bats, and always decontaminate your gear after going into a cave.

If you come across any unwanted bats, do not attempt to handle them, but instead, contact Animal Control to carefully and humanely relocate them.

Like Batman, real bats may want to keep their identity secret, but the best way to support them is to continue learning about them and spreading the truth that they are real heroes, even though their good deeds are often unseen.