Bat myths, busted

Bats must be some of the most maligned animals out there. Most people view them with revolt and even fear, thinking erroneously that they’re looking to feast on warm mammal blood. But there are no African bat species that suck blood. Also, their navigation system is too well developed for them to fly into your hair and they don’t transport parasites to humans. All these myths are rooted in misguided folklore. On the contrary, these creatures have an enormous role to play in nature. Bats are numerous in both species and numbers – there are an estimated 1 200 species worldwide and a single colony can host tens of thousands of individuals. You can imagine the effect that such a colony has on malaria-carrying mosquitoes and crop-destroying insects! The smallest bat is the Kitti’s hog-nosed bat, also known as the bumblebee bat, which is found in Thailand. It’s about 3 cm long and weighs only 2 g. In contrast, the golden-capped fruit bat of the Philippines has a wingspan of up to 1,7 m. About 70 % of bats eat insects, but some, like the epauletted fruit bat (pictured) eat fruit or nectar. These bats have long tongues and noses to reach the nectar in flowers and they’re also responsible for the pollination of numerous plant species, including banana, guava and mango trees. Bats are strictly nocturnal and thus not easily seen by people. As a result, people have no idea how rich our bat diversity is, and even less of an understanding of their behaviour. It doesn’t help that bats are some of the most difficult animals to identify. I often find it almost impossible to determine a species, even if I’m holding the bat in hand. Bats are the only mammals that can fly. Their wings comprise of elongated fingers with a double membrane stretched between them. They’re very delicate organs so bats roost in sheltered places like rock crevices, well away from wing-damaging elements. Man-made structures like roofs also make superb artificial “caves”. In some cases, this can develop into a messy and noisy problem. But please don’t use pesticides to get rid of bats – it has a huge ecological impact. Rather take the time to plug all access holes.