Afraid
of bats?
A
few months ago Roxborough State Park gave an educational
walk about bats: "Batty Over Roxborough."
The instructor, Volunteer Naturalist Susan Dunn,
had a slideshow and other educational materials prepared
in the Visitors Center's auditorium. Susan gave us a good
glimpse into the batty habitat of Roxborough and taught
us the facts on how this nocturnal mammal is beneficial
to our ecosystem.
There
is no reason to be afraid of bats. They do not attack
human beings. Many myths about bats developed due to a
lack of knowledge. Just do not handle a bat that is unable
to fly and please do not pick up one that is on the ground;
like with other mammals, there is a chance that it is
infected with the rabies virus.
After
dusk Naturalist Susan Dunn walked our group to a spot
in the park where bats are living. We watched some of
them fly over the rocks catching insects. Susan turned
on her bat detector, a special receiver that translates
the echolocation, which is the bat's acoustic orientation.
The bat detector makes it audible to the human ear; telling
us there were bats all around us.
It
is fun to watch them on their hunt in the darkness. Bats
are vital to our ecosystem by helping to control the insect
population and by pollinating plants and crops. People
and pesticides are the greatest danger to the survival
of bats.
If you want to learn more about bats and their importance
to our world call Roxborough State Park for their next
"Batty over Roxborough" and
visit the links below.
Did
you know...
....that
bats are not blind?
...that the little brown bat’s diet consists to
about 20% of mosquitoes?
...that
a bat can get much older than 20 years?
Only
a small fraction of the bat population is infected with
the rabies virus, but it is always good to be careful
when finding an injured bat. So, please do not pick it
up.
Here
is a link to a website that will give you more information
about what to do when finding a bat.
Should
you find bats in your house call the
Division of Wildlife or the Colorado Department of Health
for information on non- lethal methods for removing them.
They also will have advice on how to bat- proof your house
in the future.
Here
is more information about bats.
There is also a fun page for kids. Here
is the direct link.
Angelika
Koehne
