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Information, musings, and news about Bats

Discovery through photography

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a good week! I found an interesting article about a species of bat that seems to be moving into Japan. The Alashanian pipistrelle is very elusive, so not much is known other than that it is a larger bat. They usually are not found in Japan, but instead are usually found on the mainland of eastern Asia and Russia. Until now, only 15 Alashanian pipistrelles have been found in Japan along the northern island of Hokkaido, Aomori Prefecture and on Tsushima island. A photographer started taking images of an unknown bat species back…

Lower your pitch please!

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a good week! I have been very busy with my schoolwork and reading articles about bats. Bats are very interesting creatures. One thing that’s interesting about them is their ability to mimic specific sounds. A lot of animals aren’t able to do this; however, humans, some birds, seals, dolphins, whales, elephants, and bats can. In order to test if bats were able to do this, scientists took six adult spear-nosed bats and trained them to imitate each other in order to get food. For the experiment the scientists recorded what sounds the bats…

Do they go plip plop when they climb??

Hi everyone! I hope everyone had a good week! I was reading about different bats and found a really cute one. It’s called the Sucker-footed bat and, much like its name suggests, these bats have suction pads on their wrists and ankles that allow them to stick to leaves. Instead of resting head down like most bats, these bats cling to leaves upright and use their tail for stability. These are the only bats that are able to sleep upright. Sucker-footed bats are native to Madagascar and are usually found along the east coast of the island. These bats live in…

Bats of the Philippines–a little different

Hi everyone! I hope everyone had a good week and I hope you all enjoyed the holidays of Easter and Passover. I also hope you all had a very happy Bat Appreciation Day! Bat Appreciation Day is a day to celebrate how wonderful bats are and how valuable they are to the whole world. While appreciating bats, I found an article about bats in the Philippines. This study analyzed the genetic differences in bats that live in the Philippine islands and other bats of Southeast Asia. These differences show that bats of the Philippines either need to be reclassified as different subspecies…

A horrible rotten no good day

Dear everyone As covid 19 ravages our country and threatens our families, friends, and neighbors, there is ever more collateral damage. You may or may not be aware, but state and national guidance is severely restricting interaction with native North American bats. Today, we got official notification from our state wildlife agency. In a nutshell, for the time being in Virginia, we will only be able to rehabilitate threatened and endangered species. We cannot take even orphans of ‘common’ species. These TEMPORARY restrictions have been put in place out of an abundance of caution in an attempt to protect our…

Look at that little mustache on that bat!

Hi everyone! I hope everyone had a good week! I know things have been stressful due to the coronavirus, but I hope everyone is doing well. I found a very interesting bat to write about for this week’s blog. The Parnell’s Mustached bat lives throughout South America, Central America, and along the Caribbean coast. These bats have wrinkled lips and narrow pointed wings that are longer than most other bats’ wings. They don’t have hair on their chin, so the hair on their muzzles makes them look like they have mustaches. Mustached bats have dark brown fur that turns orange…

A cute little pollinator

Hi everyone! I hope everyone had a good week! I know things have been stressful due to the coronavirus, but I hope everyone is doing well. Currently I am a senior in high school, and I plan to take a Gap Year after I graduate high school and before college. I plan to go to both Ecuador and Peru. As these are my plans, I thought it would be fun to write about a bat from these countries. I found an adorable one called the Ecuadorian Tailless Bat. These bats are found in both Ecuador and Peru. There isn’t much…

A Wayward Waffle!

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a good week! I know things have been stressful due to the coronavirus, but hopefully everyone is doing well. With all the stress of the virus, it’s nice to hear some good news. This week, I have some news about the rescue of a little Nathusius’ pipistrelle bat. He was found sleeping between planks of wood in a timber store in Shepton Mallet, England. The good news is that he was in good condition when he was found. He has been nicknamed Waffle. Like the rest of the world, he will remain in…

A little lick and a slurp, and now we’re friends!

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a good week! In an earlier post I wrote about how Vampire bats have best friends that they help out. Recently scientists have found out that there is a bit more to the story. Due to their diets, even three days without eating can mean death to a Vampire bat, so by regurgitating food one Vampire bat can save their buddy. Because food is such an important part of their life, these bats will only help another bat they have very close relationships with. To study how Vampire bats form these tight unions…

Trouble in Texas

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a good week. I have some bad news this week. Unfortunately, scientists have confirmed that a bat in Texas has been found with White Nose Syndrome. This is the first time a bat has been found in Texas with White Nose, however, the fungus that can cause the disease has been present for a while. The bat was found on February 23 in Gillespie County. Many bat lovers had hoped that since the fungus that causes White Nose Syndrome survives better in colder conditions, Texas might not get hit by the disease. There…

Moth mufflers

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a good week! I found a very interesting article about bat prey, specifically different species of deaf moths, to write about this week. As bats use echolocation to find their prey, it is imperative to their foods’ survival that they hear the bats coming. This way they can seek shelter until the bat leaves. But deaf moth species are surviving despite their inability to hear a bat coming. In order to understand how that is possible, researchers at the University of Bristol studied four different species of deaf moths. Using scanning electron microscopy,…

Thinking of spring…

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a good week! As you know, it is the goal of every wildlife rescuer to rehabilitate the animals in their care and release them back into the wild as soon as possible. For bat rehabilitators caring for bats during the winter months, this means keeping bats healthy until they can be released in the spring. In Omaha, Nebraska, the release of bats in the springtime has become an annual event that the public is invited to attend. The Nebraska Wildlife Rehab Inc announced on their website that they will be hosting this special…