My report is on bats. I will start my story off by telling you some facts about bats.
Bat Facts
1. Did you know that the worlds smallest mammal is a Bumblebee bat that lives in
Thailand. It weighs less than a penny!
2. Vampire bats adopt orphan pups (the name for a baby bat) and have been known to risk
their lives to share food with the less fortunate.
3. The African Heart-Nosed bat can hear the footsteps of a beetle walking on sand from a
distance of over six feet!
4. The giant Flying Fox bat from Indonesia has a wing span of six feet!
5. Disk-winged bats of Latin America have adhesive disks on both feet that enable them
to live in unfurling banana leaves (or even walk up a window pane).
6. Nearly 1,000 kinds of bats account for almost a quarter of all mammal species, and
most are highly beneficial.
7. Worldwide, bats are the most important natural enemies of night-flying insects!
8. A single brown bat can catch over 600 mosquitoes in just one hour!
9. Tropical bats are key elements in rain forest ecosystems which rely on them to
pollinate flowers and disperse seeds for countless trees and shrubs.
10. Bat droppings in caves support whole ecosystems of unique organisms, including
bacteria useful in detoxifying wastes, improving detergents, and producing gasohol and
antibiotics.
11. More than 50% of American bat species are in severe decline or already listed as
endangered. Losses are occurring at alarming rates worldwide.
12. All mammals can contract rabies; however, even the less than half of one percent of
bats that do, normally bite only in self-defense and pose little threat to people who do
not handle them.
13. An anticoagulant from Vampire bat saliva may soon be used to treat human heart
patients.
14. Contrary to popular misconception, bats are not blind, do not become entangled in
human hair, and seldom transmit disease to other animals or humans.
Well, enough with the facts. I think that should get you ready for the rest of my
essay.
Austin, Texas
Congress Ave. Bridge
A Bit Of History.......
When Engineers reconstructed downtown Austin's Congress Bridge in 1980, they had no idea
that the new crevices beneath the bridge would make an ideal bat roost. Although bats
had lived in Austin for years, it was headline news when they suddenly began moving by
the thousands under the bridge. Reacting in fear, many people petitioned to have the bat
colony eradicated.
About that time, Bat Conservation International (BCI) stepped in and told Austinites the
surprising truth: that bats are gentle and incredibly sophisticated animals, that
bat-watchers have nothing to fear if they don't try to handle the bats, and that on the
nightly flights out from under the bridge, Austin bats eat 10,000 to 30,000 pounds of
insects, including mosquitoes and numerous agricultural pests.
As the city came to appreciate its bats, the population under the Congress Avenue Bridge
grew to be the largest urban bat colony in North America. With up to 1.5 million bats
spiraling into the summer sunset, Austin now has one of the most unusual and fascinating
tourist attractions anywhere!
Congress Avenue Bridge's bats are mostly Mexican free-tails (Tadarida brasiliensis).
These bats migrate each spring from central Mexico. Most of the colony is female, and
early June each one gives birth to a single baby bat. At birth the babies weigh
one-third as much as their mothers (the equivalent of a human giving birth to a 40-pound
child!). The pink, hairless babies will grow to be about three to four inches long, with
a wingspan of up to a foot. In just five weeks, they will learn to fly and hunt insects
on their own. Until that time, each Mother bat locates her pup (baby bat) among the
thousands by its distinctive voice and scent.
What To Do If A Bat Gets Stuck In Your House
1. Open a door or window and wait for it to fly out.
2. Wait for the bat to calm down and stop flying. When it has stopped flying put a bowl
over it and then slide cardboard under the bowl. Then all you have to do is open the
door and pick the bowl up.
3. Another way is to build a net. It should look something like one of the nets that
you use to catch butterflies in.
If You Would Like To Keep Bats Around Your House To Keep Those Insects Away This Summer.
You can order instructions on how to build a bat house or you can buy one . My dad and
I found instructions on how to build a bat house for 40-50 bats. We found these
instructions in a magazine. I found instructions on the Internet for sale for $6.95.
They also sold the same bat house that my dad and I built (the one in the magazine for
40-50 bats). They were selling the bat house for $50. We built ours for about $8!
You can help protect bats by simply spreading the word about these gentle and beneficial
animals. Tell a friend. Teach a child or parent. Write a letter to your government
representative. Join BCI and become a member. You can even build your very own bat
house.
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