Leslie Sturges
And a Happy New Year!
Hi everyone! I hope you all had a good week and a very Merry Christmas! I had an awesome Christmas and I got some really cool presents. I even got a brand new Save Lucy t-shirt! Since this will be my last blog post of the year, I thought it would be nice to look back at everything that happened in 2017. I know a lot of bad things happened in 2017. White Nose Syndrome continued to spread, sadly with no end in sight. There were hurricanes, earthquakes, and wildfires. More than half of Puerto Rico is still without power. Honestly, it’s been a rough year for a lot of people and a lot of critters. That said, some good things happened too. So, let’s focus on the good… On January 24, Fiona the Hippo was born at the Cincinnati Zoo. She soon became an international internet sensation bringing joy to millions of people around the world. She is absolutely adorable! A 12 year old Romanian boy risked his life to save the life of a toddler who had become trapped in a pipe. There was a total solar eclipse seen throughout North America on August 21. There won’t be another seen on the continent until 2024. And in bat news, a new bat was discovered roosting in East Devon. The grey long-eared bat is rare to the UK. There are only about 3,000 of them, so this discovery was great news! More good news came out of Europe in 2017. Thanks to Europe’s strict laws protecting bats, it was found that European bats are making a comeback. Many bat populations on the continent have increased by 43% since 1993. And last but not least, Northern Long-Eared bats were found on the island of Nantucket, Massachusetts and coastal South Carolina. […]
A Christmas cookie bat!
Hi everyone! I hope you all had a good week. I am excited because it is almost Christmas!!! I love Christmas! I have been eating so many Christmas cookies that we need to make more to give to our neighbors! I learned an interesting Christmas fact the other day. In Australia, Santa’s sleigh isn’t pulled by reindeer. It’s pulled by kangaroos! I think it’s totally awesome of the kangaroos to give the reindeer a break for a little while. I’m sure that after flying around so much of the world, they are tired and appreciate the help of those kangaroos. Since the kangaroos are so helpful, I thought I’d look up some bats from Australia. You know I just love the little bat burritos down in Australia, but I found another adorable bat to talk about this week. It’s called the Chocolate Wattled Bat. It has chocolate brown fur on its back, and light brown fur on its stomach. It has a lobe on its lower lip that looks a little like a wattle. This bat also has the most adorable little nose. Its nose looks a lot like a pug dog’s nose! I have a pug dog, so I really like this bat’s nose. ? Chocolate Wattled bats eat a lot of insects. They really like chewing on moths. These cute little creatures live in the southern parts of Australia and in Tasmania. They are very common in Victoria, Australia. They live in forests, woodlands, and in farm areas. These bats also like to roost in tree hollows and in buildings. Their colonies are made up of 10 to 20 bats. If you would like to learn more about these adorable little Australian bats, you can find information here. I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!
Up with the Resistance!
Hi everyone! I hope you all had a good week. I am now officially on winter break and I plan on enjoying myself immensely. I hope everyone else is able to enjoy their vacations and that you all have a wonderful holiday season. I read an article about researchers who are trying to find the origin of White Nose Syndrome. Scientists at Northern Arizona University and the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Wildlife Health Center used genomic sequencing to figure out where the fungus that causes the disease originally came from and how it is spreading. Up until now, there has been much speculation that the fungus originated somewhere in Europe or Asia. The scientists wanted to know its true origin, and hopefully gain some insight on how to stop it. By analyzing the genome of the fungus in samples from Europe, Asia, and North America, they found that there was a big difference between the fungus found on North America and the one in Europe and Asia. They discovered that there was a lot of diversity between the samples found in Europe and Asia, but almost none in North America. This helps prove the theory that the fungus was recently introduced to North America, and has been in Eurasia for much longer. One interesting fact is that the Eurasian bats have adapted and developed a resistance to the disease. This gives scientists hope that bats in the United States and Canada may be able to do the same. If you would like to read the article, you can find it here.
Pants with pockets, and a tail!
Hi everyone! I hope you all had a good week. I’m excited because it is almost Winter Break. There is only one more week before I get a two-week vacation. I can’t wait! A lot has been going on in the news this week. One thing makes me sad. There are a lot of wildfires in California again. I would like to dedicate this week’s blog to all the people and animals affected by these fires. I researched some bats from California and found a really cute one – the pocketed free-tailed bat! This adorable little bat lives in California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and in Mexico. They look similar to the Brazilian free-tailed bat, but they have one major difference. These little guys have built in pockets! How cool is that? They have a fold of skin that stretches from the middle of the femur to the middle of the tibia. This fold makes a little pocket on the underside near their knee. The pocketed free-tailed bat eats insects. They like to roost in caves, crevices, mines, tunnels, and man-made structures. Unlike the Brazilian free-tailed bat, the pocket free-tailed bats don’t live in large colonies. Their colonies are usually fewer than 100 bats. If you would like to read more about the pocketed free-tailed bat, you can find information here. I would like to wish everyone who celebrates Hanukah a very happy holiday!
An A+ Performance!!
Hi everyone! I hope you all had a good week! Mine was pretty good. I had to do a one-minute speech in my government class. We were supposed to act like we were talking to Congress and were trying to persuade them to fund our project. Well, of course, my speech was to ask Congress for more funding to find a cure for White Nose Syndrome. I got an A!!! And now for the truly exciting news! A new Bats Aren’t Scary video was released on Friday. This one is titled “A Change of Heart” and stars a handsome little bat named Delbert. It also stars a human named Shelly. Shelly meets little Delbert and is scared. Thanks to some absolutely amazing acting by little Delbert, Shelly has a change of heart and decides that maybe bats aren’t scary at all. I don’t want to ruin it for you. You need to watch the video yourself. But I will tell you that Shelly not only changes her mind about bats, but she also educates others about how awesome bats are. I really do believe that little Delbert could win some awards for this performance. I mean, really, there is a little bit of everything in this film. There is his graceful flying, his expressive scream of fright, and the last scene…amazing! And while I am discussing the acting in this video, let’s discuss Shelly. For a human, she does a wonderful job. She might be a contender for Best Supporting Actress! And now, without further ado, please watch the video for yourself. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. If you would like to watch it over and over again, you can find it here and here. All the Bats Aren’t Scary videos are free for anyone to use–just […]
A Thanksgiving Story
Hi everyone! I hope you had a good week and a happy Thanksgiving! I had a nice quiet holiday with lots and lots of food. Since Thanksgiving is supposed to commemorate a treaty signed between the Wampanoag people and the English settlers, and Friday was Native American Heritage Day, I would like to dedicate this blog to all the Indigenous People of the Americas. Native American Heritage Day is a day that recognizes all the contributions Native Americans have made as well as their heritage and history. I thought it would be nice to research some Native American stories about bats. I couldn’t find any Wampanoag stories, but I did find a nice Ojibwe one. This story describes how bat came to be. It starts with the sun getting stuck in the branches of a tall tree. A little squirrel saw him and desperately tried to save him. The little squirrel got badly burned, his skin got stretched, and the bright sunlight blinded him. Despite his injuries, the little squirrel kept trying and eventually saved the sun. As a reward for the little squirrel’s heroism, the sun helped the little squirrel. He stopped the squirrel’s pain and gave him the ability to fly. Little squirrel became the first little brown bat. The Ojibwe people tell the story much better than I do, so if you would like to read it, you can find it here. I hope you all have a great week.
Hangin’ in Gabon
Hi everyone! I hope you had a good week! I had a pretty good one because I have been looking forward to going camping. That’s right! I am going camping tonight! And then tomorrow, I am going caving. I’ve never been caving, so I hope it’s a lot of fun. This week has been a hard one for a lot of people around the world. People in Puerto Rico are still without power. There were several major earthquakes around the world. Some really bad ones were in Chile and at the border between Iran and Iraq. In addition to all that, there has been a political crisis in Zimbabwe. My thoughts are with everyone affected by these difficult situations. My family has recently become friends with some people in Zimbabwe. We have heard from one friend who said that people in his area are doing well, but we haven’t heard from our friend in Harare. We are worried about her and hope everyone there is ok. In her honor, I thought it would be nice to research bats from Zimbabwe. They have a lot of really cute ones. I decided the cutest one is the Sundevall’s Roundleaf Bat. I think this little bat looks like a little piggy. They have long gray or bright orange fur with brown wings. They also have big round ears and a horseshoe-shaped nose that reminds me of my pug. These bats are common throughout much of Africa. Their diet consists of mostly moths, but they also eat beetles, flies, and other insects. The Sundevall’s Roundleaf Bat likes to roost in caves, tree hollows, mines, and attics. Some of their cave roosts are really big. One cave in Gabon has 500,000 of these bats. If you would like to read more about these adorable […]
A beautiful, superheroic city!
Hi everyone! I hope you all had a good week! I had a pretty good one because last weekend was a four-day weekend! That’s right, I had Monday and Tuesday off of school. That means that not only did I have a four-day weekend, but I only had a three-day school week! Personally, I am of the opinion that I should have had Veteran’s Day off as well, but I suppose the people in charge thought students needed more than a two-day school week…I do not understand why! I do hope that all the veterans out there (and all the lucky people who got to stay home and not go to school) enjoyed their special day. I recently heard about a place called Batman. Batman is, of course, my favorite superhero. So, when I heard that there was a place called Batman, I began investigating. Apparently, this place has been in southeastern Turkey all along, and I didn’t know about it! Southeastern Turkey sounds like the perfect place for a vacation. It has mountains, wildflowers, and waterfalls. It also has caves and some of the world’s oldest archaeological sites. The town of Batman is the area’s third largest city. Until 1957, the town was called Iluh. In the 1940’s oil was found in the area and the town grew. Shortly after that is when it was renamed Batman after the Batman River nearby. This wonderful place also has some amazing bats living there. It was hard for me to pick a favorite, but if I had to pick, I think I’d pick the Bechstein’s bat because of its adorable big ears. This lovely little creature has nice fluffy, reddish-brown fur and its face is really cute and pink. The Bechstein’s bat eats insects and lives in tree holes. If you’d […]
Hmm, that’s an interesting accent…
Hi everyone! I hope you all had a good week! I had a lot of fun at the Botanic Gardens last weekend. It was so much fun talking to everyone about bats. A lot of people came by and the bats loved all the attention they were getting. They also liked all the juicy mealworms that they got to eat. A few days ago, Save Lucy shared an article. I thought it was really interesting. The article was about how bat pups pick up bat dialects. A team of scientists wanted to know if bats could pick up other bats’ dialects when introduced to them. They raised 14 little bat pups with their mothers. The bats were all from different colonies. The scientists played three subsets of recordings of natural bat sounds. This continued until the pups were adults. Since the pups were raised with their mothers, they learned to speak like she did, but with the introduction of other bat dialects via the speakers, they also learned how to speak in the dialect the speaker was playing. Isn’t that cool? Until this study, scientists thought humans were the only ones who could pick up different dialects. People have different accents and dialects depending on where they are from. Over time, people learn how to copy others’ accents or to drop their own accents in order to communicate. If you would like to read the article, you can find it here. And now for a public service announcement or two… Daylight Savings time ends tomorrow. Don’t forget to set your clocks back an hour. Also, Election Day is Tuesday. Don’t forget to vote. The little bats are counting on their human friends to do all the voting for them. Sadly, bats aren’t allowed to vote. I hope you all have […]