A-Z Challenge - B is for Bats

It is day two of the A-Z Challenge and hence we have the letter "B". I feel like the Count on Sesame Street. "Can we have a 'B'?"

A creature who has been much maligned is the bat. They have been classified as dangerous in many books and movies, purported to attack people and carry rabies, yet they are some of the most harmless creatures in the world. While they can carry rabies, like any mammal, the incidence of rabies among bats is not nearly as high as once thought.

My author friend, Dee Stuart, whom I mentioned yesterday, wrote a book Bats: Mysterious Flyers of the Night, and that was my first introduction to the truth about these creatures. They do not attack people. They are frightened when people enter a cave or other dark area where the bats are roosting and they will then fly out in a crazy cacophony of wings. That may appear to be an attack, but it is not. Bats also exit their lair en-mass at dusk to find feeding grounds, and that wild exit can appear threatening.

Bats can  be very beneficial when it comes to controlling mosquitoes and other insects. Some cities have started using bat houses to encourage bats to roost and feed in specific areas. That sounds like a better solution than spraying more chemicals into the air and poisoning our environment.

So let's try to be friends with the bat. Shall we?