Wildlife Center of Silicon Valley

In Praise of Bats
by Kathleen Cahill

Numerous myths and superstitions persist regarding bats, making them disliked and feared. These myths have flourished because bats are among the world's least understood animals. Although bats have been around for 50 million years and can be found around the world, their numbers are decreasing. Many species of bats have become endangered as a result of habitat loss and direct intervention by humans fueled my misinformation. Far from being dangerous and frightening, bats are environmentally valuable, interesting animals.

More then 1,000 species of bats exist, with twenty species found in California. These include the Big Brown bat, Hoary bat, Yuma bat, and the Mexican free-tailed bat. Like dolphins, most bats communicate and navigate with high-frequency sounds. Bats give birth to one pup in June or July. The baby is helpless until it learns to fly one month later, quickly becoming independent. Bats can live up to 30 years. Bat social behavior varies between species: some bats live in colonies of thousands and others are solitary. Bats are found living in caves, animal burrows, plants, and buildings.

Contrary to common belief, the vast majority of bats are not vampire bats, which are not found in the United States. All vampire bats are found in Latin America, and make up only a small fraction of all bat species (vampire bats are much more likely to feed on the blood of animals than of humans in any case).

The majority of bats are insectivores and the rest feed on fruit, mice, and small vertebrates. Because so many bats consume insects, they are very valuable in keeping the insect population down; one bat can catch hundreds of insects in an hour.

Bats perform other vital functions as well. They are the sole pollinator of some keystone plant species. In the tropics, the seed dispersal and pollination activity of fruit- and nectar-eating bats are vital to the survival of the rain forests.

The number one risk to bats is habitat loss. Bats are living in attics and other human dwellings because their natural habitats are being destroyed. If you would like to help combat this and provide bats with alternate housing, consider putting up a bat house in your yard. Bat houses are compact and take up minimal room. In our climate, they should be placed where they can receive 6-8 hours of sun per day. Houses can be purchased through http://batcon.org. Instructions for building a bat house can be found at http://www.californiabats.com. More about bats can be learned at either of these web sites.