October 29, 2021
Happy Halloween!

This Musing is the second of a special two-part Halloween inspired series exploring bats and a few of the great things they do.

Image of Mariana Fruit bat with its belly button showing Photo by Julia Boland, USFWS

 What Bats and Humans Have in Common

• Bats are mammals, as are humans, and like most mammals we both have belly buttons from where mom's umbilical cord was attached. The next obvious question is: Innies or outies?
• We eat some of the same foods. At least 2 billion people routinely consume insects according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and 70% of bats do as well. The other 30% of bats eat fruit, pollen, or nectar, or they are carnivores.  In contrast to vampire mythology only 3 species of bats suck blood.
• Both humans and bats enjoy the nectar of the agave plant. The Mexican long-tongued bat has a long, bristle-like tongue, allowing them to sip the nectar from agave plant and many humans enjoy tequila made from the agave plant.

The lesser long-nosed bat using its 3-inch-long tongue — equal to its body length — to feed on nectar.Photo by Merlin D. Tuttle, Bat Conservation International.

 How Bats Help Us

• Bats have exceptional tolerance to DNA damage, parasites and viruses, and scientists have been studying them in the hopes of finding a way to improve human resilience against things like Ebola, malaria, and cancers.
• Scientists are studying bats' nervous systems and echolocation abilities to develop a new class of assistive devices for the visually impaired.
• Scientists have also been studying the saliva of vampire bats in an effort to develop a medication for stroke patients. Dubbed Draculin, this blood-clot-bashing drug attempts to mimic an enzyme that the bat's saliva releases into the bloodstream, which causes blood to flow more readily.

The Mexican long-tongued bat. Photo by USFWS

How We Can Help Bats

• Simply talking about bats can help them. You can dispel some of the unfounded myths about bats by sharing fascinating facts and some of the wonderful benefits bats bring to us.  
  
• Light pollution can bother bats so remember to turn the lights off. By doing our part to help create a dark environment, we help improve the conditions bats need to thrive.
• Put up a bat house. These structures provide them with much-needed roosts and the bats will say "Thank You" by keeping insect pests at bay around your home. Instructions can be found on Bat Conservation International's website.
  

California leaf-nosed bats exit a cave at Joshua Tree National Park.
Photo by Kristen Lalumiere, National Park Service.

Learn more about bats in the Connecticut area including those of
Old New-Gate Prison and Copper Mine in East Granby.

Resources used for this Musing are listed below.

Bats. (n.d.). National Park Service. Retrieved October 21, 2021, from https://www.nps.gov/labe/learn/nature/bats.htm

Bat-Inspired Tech Could Help Blind People See with Sound. By Allison Eck (2013, October 23) NOVA. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/bioinspired-assistive-devices/

Draculin, Stroke Drug From Vampire Bats, Moves Closer to Circulation. By Patrick Morgan (2011, May 11) Discover Magazine. https://www.discovermagazine.com/technology/draculin-stroke-drug-from-vampire-bats-moves-closer-to-circulation

13 Awesome Facts About Bats. (2021, October 20). U.S Department of the Interior. https://www.doi.gov/blog/13-facts-about-bats

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. (2020, October). Creepin' it Real: Why Bats Don't Suck. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. https://usfws.medium.com/creepin-it-real-why-bats-don-t-suck-8ed65a076819

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. (2019, May 29). 10 Ways to be a Friend to Bats. Midwest Region Endangered Species. https://www.fws.gov/midwest/endangered/battips.html

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