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Fruity floof

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a good week! Since the Japanese cherry blossoms are blooming in Washington, DC, I thought that I would write about a bat from Japan. I found an adorable fruit bat called the Mariana fruit bat. The Mariana fruit bat has dark brown to black fur covering most of its body with grey hairs throughout and a beautiful gold or pail brown neck floof. Mariana fruit bats live in tropical and subtropical climates of Japan, Guam and in the Marina islands. They like to roost in limestone forests, coconut groves, and vegetation. During the day they mostly sleep but they also groom, fly around, and climb around. They usually leave their roost to get dinner around sunset. Since these bats are fruit bats, they like to munch on fruit and occasionally flowers and leaves. Sadly, these bats are endangered. This is due to habitat loss caused by timber removal, natural disasters, and habitat destruction caused by non-native animals. They have also been hunted and killed as a crop pest. If you’d like to read more about these bats, you can read about them here.

The great ball game

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a good week! I had a great one because I had almost no school! The polar vortex closed schools and caused delayed openings. We also got a little bit of snow. The teeny bit of snow caused them to close school on Friday. We have no school Monday because it’s a teacher work day. So, I have a 4-day weekend! And now for the bat news. At an NBA game between the San Antonio Spurs and the Brooklyn Nets, a few surprise guests appeared. A group of bats flew in from an unknown entry point and stopped the game. Security guards ran onto the court and started trying to catch them with a giant net! One member of the San Antonio Spurs, Manu Ginobili, has been known to catch these beautiful creatures. In a previous game of his, a Mexican free-tailed bat flew in and began flying around. Ginobili swatted the bat and gave it to an area attendant. If a creature, like a bat, does fly into your house or building, you should call someone trained to help in these situations. This could be Animal Control or a local wildlife facility. You should never take matters into your own hands unless absolutely necessary. Ginobili did not take the correct measures in safety, and had to get 16 rabies shots afterward. If you would like to watch the videos of the bats enjoying the basketball game, you can do so here. [Hitting a small flying animal in order to contain it is never appropriate. However, we are not sure why Mr. Ginobili had to have so many injections after his contact with the bat. Please be assured that normally, there are fewer injections. Don’t let fear of shots or needles keep you from seeking medical attention after a bite or scratch from […]

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 […]

Have a drink on me!

Baturday News is a weekly blog written by Rachael, a middle school student and Save Lucy volunteer. Rachael’s interest in bats was sparked by the big brown bats that used the outside of her former home for a winter roost. Her family cheerfully hosted the wild colony for years. Hi everyone! I hope you all had a good week. I thought we should all take this time to learn another interesting Vampire Bat fact. I know that a lot of people are scared of vampire bats. I just want you all to know that these bats are actually very friendly and sweet with each other. Sure, they have a rather strange diet, but that is just our opinion. They probably think our diet is weird. That doesn’t make them scary. So, in an effort to show everyone just how wonderful all bats are, including the poor misunderstood vampire bat, here is this week’s interesting bat fact: Vampire bats share blood! As you all know, they drink blood. What I didn’t know is that if one of their roost-mates is hungry, a vampire bat will share blood with it! A scientist at the University of Maryland has been studying vampire bats for many years. He says that the bats will share regurgitated blood with their roost-mates. Apparently, a vampire bat will approach a friend who is hungry and offer it food. The scientists have noticed that bats who share the most blood will be offered the most if they are hungry later. The scientist says that it is evidence that bats are generous and their behavior might ensure that they will get fed if they are hungry one time. If you want to read the article that I read, you can find it here. So, I think we should all learn […]