WHY BATS MATTER
The virus that causes COVID-19 potentially originated in a bat host, but bats are not to blame for the pandemic. It was humans who altered ecological systems worldwide and unnaturally increased opportunities for viruses like this to emerge.
Bat Week, Oct. 24–31
Humans need bats. Worldwide, there are more than 1,400 species of bats—that’s almost 20 percent of all mammal species. Bats live almost everywhere on Earth except the most extreme desert and polar regions. So, no matter where you live, it is almost certain that there are bats living near you. Bats are amazing animals that are vital to the health of our environment and economy. Although we may not always see them, bats are hard at work all around the world each night. Most bats in North America eat insects, including moths, beetles, aquatic insects, and flies. A single bat can eat up to its body weight in insects each night. Eating all these insects helps protect our food crops and forests from insect pests, saving farmers and forest managers billions of dollars each year.
Consider these fascinating bat facts:
- Bats come in all shapes and sizes, from the tiny, adorable bumblebee bat that weighs less than a penny to the big, beautiful flying foxes that can have a wingspan of up to six feet.
- Bats are the only mammal that can truly fly (although some other mammals “glide”). A bat’s wing is actually a modified hand—similar to yours.
- Contrary to popular belief, bats actually have good eyesight (similar to that of humans), but for most species, their main technique for navigating or locating prey is using echolocation (not all species echolocate!): emitting very high- pitched sounds that bounce off obstacles in their path, like trees, other bats, buildings, and food. main target—delicious insects. Not all bats that echolocate are insectivores!
- Bats eat lots of different things. Although almost 70% of bat species feed primarily on insects, some bats are carnivorous, eating meat like rodents, frogs, and fish. Only three species of bats feed on animal blood, with two of these species specializing on bird blood. Many other bats eat pollen, nectar or fruit—these bats are vital for pollinating flowers and spreading seeds that grow new plants and trees.
https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/nature/article/bat-myths-busted
https://batworld.org/myths_facts_page/
https://batwatch.ca/content/bat-myths
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2766192/
https://www.bats.org.uk/about-bats/why-bats-matter/bats-as-pollinators
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/03/150316093005.htm
The virus that causes COVID-19 potentially originated in a bat host, but bats are not to blame for the pandemic. It was humans who altered ecological systems worldwide and unnaturally increased opportunities for viruses like this to emerge. Looking ahead, our best defense against future pandemics is intact ecosystems—a buffer from zoonotic diseases, so many of which have the potential to spill over to people. And to maintain these intact systems, we need bats, which play vital roles in ecosystem integrity. This is among the many reasons to appreciate these mammals. In honor of Bat Week, Oct. 24–31, here are some more.
1. THERE ARE A TON OF DIFFERENT BAT SPECIES
Using the word “bats” is like saying “ungulates”—there are many species and they fill different niches in our ecosystems. In general, big bats and small bats fly in different places and feed on different sized insects. A healthy diversity of bats reflects a healthy diversity of insect prey.
2. THEY MAY HELP US FIND TREATMENTS FOR COVID-19
The key to medical treatments for COVID-19 may rest with bats themselves. Some scientists are studying bat immunology to better understand how bats coexist with the same viruses that cause high mortality in humans. Research on bat and human immune systems and differences in how they interact with SARS-CoV-2 are playing a role in identifying when and where in the disease cycle medical therapies can be targeted.
3. THEY KEEP AGRICULTURAL PESTS IN CHECK
Analyzing insect prey in bat diets is expensive and thus remains understudied; but the more we look the more we discover that bats are eating important agricultural and forestry pest insects.
4. THEY EAT A LOT OF INSECTS, TOO
Insectivorous bats eat 50-100% of their body weight each night. Imagine what that does to control insect populations. It’s estimated they save the U.S. agricultural industry billions per year in the cost of pesticide applications alone.
5. THEY PLAY OTHER IMPORTANT ROLES IN ECOSYSTEMS
Some bats are pollinators, providing critical nectar-drinking services to important plants. Others disperse seeds. Fruit bats deliver a rain of small seeds up to 75 km from roost sites, supporting tropical forest biodiversity and protecting local livelihoods. One large colony of straw-colored fruit bats in Accra, Ghana, generates about 26 seed dispersal events per square km and over 300,000 events total each night.
As the largest fruit bats in Africa, hammer-headed bats are excellent seed dispersers, critical to forest health.
6. THEY HAVE UNIQUE VOICES
Bat species have their own vocalizations. If you want to find out who’s around you just need to listen in, which is really helpful for researchers. Speaking of which …
7. THEY ARE NEW YORKERS
In 2016, researchers from WCS and Fordham University found five bat species living in the Bronx. The results were particularly exciting as they reveal that even in one of the largest megacities like New York City, there are sufficient green spaces available to provide habitat for bat species and other wildlife.
8. THEY CAN ‘SEE’ IN THE DARK
Bats can see, but they are also capable of finding their way in the pitch black. They do it through echolocation—they emit sounds as they fly (which are out of our range of hearing) and use the echoes to map their surroundings.
The gigantic ears of the Towsend’s big-eared bat are pointed forward during flight, providing highly sensitive directional echolocation.
9. THERE’S A VIDEO GAME FOR THEM
Play the game to learn how to protect bats from white-nose syndrome—a fungal disease that has already killed millions of bats in North America.
10. ONE SPECIES HAS SUPER SALIVA
A major anticoagulant in the saliva of the cave-dwelling common vampire bat also reduces inflammation. Researchers have been investigating its potential to help stroke patients.
What is the Balayang? Aboriginal Mythology
Balayang is a mythical bat who is a prominent figure in the mythology of the Kulin nation, an area in south central Victoria that is comprised of five indigenous nations – Djadjawurung, Taungurong, Wathaurong, Wolworung, and Boonwurrung. It is estimated that the Kulin nation was inhabited by Aboriginal peoples as early as 40,000 years before the British first began colonising Australia in 1788. Balayang was the brother of the eaglehawk creator god Bunjil but, according to myth, Balayang refused to live with Bunjil when he asked him to, as the terrain was too dry and the country was too barren. Bunjil sought vengeance on his brother for refusing to live with him, and it is said that he sent two of his accomplices (Djurt-Djurt and Thara) to attack Balayang. In doing so, they burned and scorched Balayang’s country, turning him and his family black for eternity. His black hue also led to Balayang being strongly associated with the Crow. In many Aboriginal tales, Balayang is credited with finding wives for the men that Bunjil created, with one story suggesting he found Kunnawarra and Kururuk (two such wives) underneath muddy waters (not the blues singer!). In astrology, Balayang is represented by Antares, the fifteenth brightest star in the sky during the night. Balayang is sometimes referred to as Palian in Aboriginal folklore.
Indigenous Peoples Literature 