Tag education

Adorable and fruity!

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a good week. I was looking up interesting bats from around the world and found a really adorable one called the Rousettus Bat. Rousettus bats are also more commonly known as Egyptian Fruit Bats. These bats have orange-yellow fur around their necks that match nicely with the dark brown and gray fur along their backs and stomachs. Rousettus bats are found in the tropical rainforests, savanna, and tropical deciduous forests in Africa. They are also found in scrub forests of Mediterranean Turkey. Egyptian Fruit bats eat a lot of fruit each night. They like to eat soft, pulpy fruit, especially wild dates. They also eat unripe fruit and fruit damaged by insects or fungus. Because they eat this fruit, they are able to survive when ripe fruit is not available. If you would like to read more about the Rousettus bat, you can find information here. And now for the exciting news! Herndon Nature Fest is tomorrow afternoon from 1 – 5 PM. It is being held at Runnymede Park, 195 Herndon Pkwy in Herndon, VA. Save Lucy’s President, Mrs. Sturges, will be there with some bats and I will be there too! If you are in the area, I hope to see you there. Have a good week!

Carolinas on my mind…

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a good week. Mine was pretty good. People in the Carolinas are having a really hard time though. Hurricane Florence made landfall yesterday and is causing a disaster in North and South Carolina. This week’s blog is dedicated to the people of North and South Carolina. I hope they are able to stay safe during the storm and are able to return to their homes soon. I researched a bat that lives in the Carolinas. It is an adorable bat species called the Seminole bat. The bats are found in a wide range. They live in the forested regions of eastern Texas, north to southeastern Oklahoma, central Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Georgia, North and South Carolina, and into south-central Virginia. And, if you’ll remember, there were a few Seminole bats found in Northern Virginia not too long ago. These furry little critters have an interesting place that they like to roost. They roost in Spanish moss! They also like loose tree bark that they can squeeze under. A lot of their roosts are in dark locations where they can drop down into flight. The Seminole bat has mahogany colored fur with silver-ish tips that give the bats their beautiful reddish coloring. The Seminole bat eats insects. They especially like leafhoppers, flies, beetles, bees, and ants. If you would like to read more about these bats, you can do so here.

Whiskers!!

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a good week! The best part of mine was the holiday on Monday. It was nice to sleep late and relax. There was a powerful earthquake in Japan on Thursday. I would like to dedicate this week’s blog to the people of Japan. My thoughts are with you all as you recover from this earthquake. I read about an adorable Japanese bat called the Yanbaru Whiskered bat. These bats have black fur over most of their body, with some hairs having silver colored tips. This bat was first discovered in 1996 and has been listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. This is because its habitat is only 39 square miles of land. The Yanbaru Whiskered bat is only found on a few of Japan’s islands: three of the islands of the Ryukyu Archipelago, Okinawa, Amami Oshima, and Tokunoshima. This bat roosts in hollow trees. Because this bat’s habitat range is so small, deforestation is a major threat. If you would like to read more about the Yanbaru Whiskered bat, you can find information here. As you are making your plans for the rest of the month, please consider attending Herndon’s Naturefest. It will be on September 23 from 1-5:00 at Runnymede Park in Herndon, VA. Save Lucy’s esteemed leader, Mrs. Sturges, and I will both be there. And best of all, Mrs. Sturges will bring some of our batty friends. I hope you all have a good week.

When bloggers travel…

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a good week! I went to Montreal for vacation! It was amazing. Montreal is a great city to visit and I highly recommend it. While I didn’t get to see lots of bats flying around at night, I know that Montreal has some cute ones. I decided to write this week’s blog on a little bat from Canada. The Eastern Small-footed bat is adorable! It is the smallest bat in North America and is only about 20 cm long with its wings stretched out. It has, as its name suggests, small feet. Their feet are less than half an inch long! Isn’t that adorable? They have brown fur with golden highlights, and a black furry face and ears. Their range is all the way from Virginia and West Virginia, into Pennsylvania, New York, and Canada. Even though they have a very big range, the Eastern Small-footed bat is the rarest bat in North America. One reason this species is threatened is because of problems with their roosts. They roost in caves, mines, and even under large rocks and other tight crevices. Many of their roosts are being disturbed while the bats are hibernating. Another serious problem these bats are facing is White Nose Syndrome. It is estimated that White Nose Syndrome has killed 12% of the species. When combined with other threats to the species, WNS is having a devastating affect on the Eastern Small-footed Bat. If you would like to read more about this bat, you can find information here.

Explore your world:Indonesia

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a good week. I went back-to-school shopping. It was fun to buy new clothes for school. The people in Indonesia haven’t been having such a great week. There was a really bad earthquake there. I decided to learn about a bat from Indonesia. I found an adorable bat called the Fawn Leaf-nosed bat. They got their name from their leaf shaped nose. Their nose narrows at the front to make their leaflets more visible than those of other leaf-nosed and horseshoe bats. Another distinguishing feature this bat has is their big ears. Fawn Leaf-nosed bats have adorable triangular ears. They have grayish-brown or orangey colored fur. Like most other bats, these guys eat yummy crunchy insects. They especially like moths and beetles. Fawn Leaf-nosed bats roosts in caves and abandoned mines. They also take shelter in sheds and other buildings. They live in areas close to water, such as rainforests and open Savannah woodlands. These bats range from Southeast Asia and Melanesia to the Coen region and Cape York. If you want to read more about these bats you can do so here.

One bat, two bat, yellow bat…yellow bat?

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a good week. I have had another nice and relaxing one. As I was looking for batty news, I stumbled upon a really interesting article. A research team in Kenya was studying African Yellow House Bats. There are 21 known species of African Yellow House Bats and the scientists were trying to accurately classify all the species when they made an amazing discovery. They believe they have discovered two new species of these bats! House Bats get their name from the fact that they like to roost in urban environments, but they are still very difficult to catch and study. Scientists knew there were different kinds because, while most of them have distinctive yellow bellies, some have brown or orange ones. Other than that, their physical differences are difficult to distinguish. Using skin samples, scientists analyzed the DNA of 100 bats in Kenya. They compared the samples to the bats in their genetic database and developed an African House Bat family tree. The new family tree helped organize the bats and showed that there are two distinct genetic lineages. Even though it is almost certain that these two bat species are new, researchers still have to show that they exhibit unique features, both physically and behaviorally, before they can officially be classified as new species. If you would like to read more about this exciting news, you can find information here. I hope everyone has a good week. Happy Bastille Day to everyone in France!

High hopes in Thailand

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a good week and that you enjoyed your 4th of July celebrations. I heard about a soccer team that has been stuck in a cave in Thailand. A lot of people are working very hard to get them out of the cave safely. It must be a very difficult job. I thought it would be nice to learn about a bat from Thailand. I found an adorable bat called the Greater False Vampire bat. They live throughout South Asia, including Thailand. They roost in places that a lot of other bat species also roost in such as caves, hollow trees, and old buildings. These very cute bats have big ears and an incredibly handsome nose-leaf that covers most of their face. The Greater False Vampire bat has blue-grey fur covering most of their body, and a brown-grey stomach. These bats are carnivores who like to eat many yummy things including fish and larger insects that smaller bats aren’t big enough to eat. Unlike other carnivorous bats, these bats will sometimes sit and wait for their prey to come by. Once they catch their tasty morsel, they fly to a nice safe place to eat it.  If you want to read more about the Greater False Vampire bat, you can read about them here. I would like to wish all the rescuers in Thailand the best of luck. I hope everyone gets out of the cave safely soon.

Some very special California critters

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a good week. The world got some sad news Thursday when we learned of the passing of Koko the Gorilla. Koko was an amazing gorilla who had learned to communicate in American Sign Language. She was able to tell the world how she was feeling and what she was thinking in ways that humans didn’t realize animals would be able to. She was a great ambassador of the animal kingdom and will be greatly missed. I would like to express my sympathy to her caretakers and friends, especially Ms. Penny Patterson, who was Koko’s friend, teacher, and caretaker throughout Koko’s life. And I would like to dedicate this week’s blog to the memory of Koko. Since Koko lived in California, I thought it would be nice to learn about a California bat this week. Yuma myotis is just one of the adorable little critters that I read about. Not only does the Yuma myotis live in California, but it also lives in other parts of Western North America from British Columbia all the way down to Central Mexico. They live as far east as Oklahoma. They are covered by short brown fur and have little white tuffs on their stomachs. They always roost near a body of water, and like to rest in caves, attics, mines, and underneath bridges. They live in forests and desert areas with access to rivers, streams, ponds, or lakes. Like most other North American bats, these adorable animals like to munch on insects. Their favorites are moths, midges, caddisflies, craneflies, and beetles. If you would like to read more about the Yuma Myotis, you can find information here.        

A little bat, a lot of cute!

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a good week! I had an eventful one. My sister graduated from high school on Thursday! In honor of her graduating, I thought I would write about one of her favorite bats. She loves the little Bumble-Bee Bat. The Bumble-Bee Bat is not only one of the cutest animals I have ever seen, it is also the smallest mammal known to man. This makes it the smallest bat species. The official name of the Bumble-Bee Bat is the Kittie’s Hog-Nosed Bat, but since it’s only an inch long, people nicknamed it the Bumble-Bee Bat. This bat has red or gray fur, big ears, a cute tail, extra webbing between its hind legs, and true to its name, a cute hog-ish nose. The extra webbing between their legs helps them move around while they are flying. The Bumble-Bee Bat lives along the Southeast part of Burma, the western areas of Thailand, and the Sai Yok National Park in Thailand. They roost along the forest areas and the limestone caves by rivers. Their diet consists of insects that live near the water. They eat a lot of flies and also eat spiders. Unlike a lot of other bat species, these bats don’t live in large colonies. Their colonies usually only have between 100 and 500 members, sometimes even less. Some colonies only have 10 bats as members. If you’d like to read more about these adorable bats, you can find information here.

A bat fit for a king!

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a good week! I did because yesterday was King’s Day in the Netherlands. Since I am part Dutch, I celebrated the day with some Dutch pancakes and a yummy Dutch cake. King’s Day is the birthday of the Dutch King. So, I would like to wish His Majesty, King Willem-Alexander a very happy birthday. I hope everyone in the Netherlands and Dutch people all over the world had a fantastic holiday. Since it was the King’s birthday yesterday, I thought that I would write about a bat from the Netherlands. I found an adorable bat called the Pond Bat. They are so cute! They have ash-grey or chestnut-brown fur on their backs, and their stomachs are covered with greyish fur. They live all over Europe and part of Asia. Pond bats roost in hollows in trees, caves, and comfy human house roofs and church towers. As their name suggests, they like living near water. They dive toward the water and catch gnats, midges, and caddis flies…I think the Bat Scouts could have a new Bat Scout cookie, because…eww! Like many other bats, these adorable critters are in danger. Many of their nursery sites have been lost in the western part of their range. They are doing a little better in the eastern part of their range, but they are still near threatened there. If you would like to read more about Pond Bats, you can find information here.