The news media, movies, television, have perpetuated myths, misconceptions and fears about bats that subsequently far too many people believe. Bats do not get into your hair, they are not flying mice, they don't come "out of hell," they are not blind, and only three species (not in the U.S. or Canada) make a diet of blood.

Bats are the only flying mammals in the world, Flying squirrels don't fly, they glide!... .

One bat will eat 3000-7000 insects nightly, including mosquitoes, biting midges, beetles, moths, leafhoppers, flies, and numerous other insects.  Bats eat up to half their body weight nightly.  Nursing mother bats are known to eat up to 125% of their body weight in insects nightly.  Could you eat over 400 quarter pounders each night!  A conservative estimate for the number of insects would be 13 tons eaten in one summer over a 100 square mile area of New England.  The mexican free-tailed bats from Bracken Cave, Texas eat 250 tons nightly!  That's a lot of insects considering an insects weight! 

A colony of 150 big brown bats can protect local farmers from up to 18,000.000 or more rootworms and other crop eating insects each summer.

Of the world's 900+ species, only three are vampire bats, limited mostly to Latin America. Vampire bats do not attack humans. They are very small and generally drink the blood of animals and poultry. Seventy percent of all bat species eat insects, most of the remaining 30% eat fruit, pollen and nectar.

Less than one-half of one percent of bats contract rabies. However, a grounded bat should never be handled because like any wild creature it may bite in self-defense. Call a wildlife rehabilitator, bat expert, or an animal organization for help.

Bats are vital to the ecosystem! Fruit bats bring us over 450 commercial products, including 80 medicines. The seed dispersal and pollination activities of fruit and nectar eating bats are vital to the survival of rain forests. Seeds dropped by tropical bats account for up to 95% of forest regrowth on cleared land.

Bats, for their size, are the slowest reproducing mammals on earth. Bats are exceptionally long-lived, some species can live up to 34 years but subsequently give birth to few young.  Most bats give birth to one or two young yearly.

Bats carefully groom themselves. Bats are among the cleanest of animals and are also exceptionally resistant to disease.  However, they are not resistant to pesticides (which are fat soluble) and become extremely toxic to hibernating species during spring time when a bat's fat reserves are lowest after hibernation.

Studies of bats have contributed to the development of navigational aids for the blind, birth control and artificial insemination techniques, vaccine production and drug testing, and a better understanding of low-temperature surgical procedures.

Batnic 2000-2002