Many animals get a bad rep as a result of old superstitions, their “displeasing” appearance, and mostly people’s ignorance. A couple of my friends and fellow bloggers have already touched on the dangers that cats, especially black cats, may face on Halloween, and where some of those superstitions come from. You can check them out here and here.
In honor of Halloween, and since cats have already been covered, I’d like to take a brief moment to mention another one of Halloween’s under– appreciated critters– the industrious, beneficial, and [yes, sometimes even] cute Chiroptera… the bat.
First and foremost, bats may seem scary, but not only are they relatively harmless (unless you’re a mosquito or something,) but they are actually beneficial.
Why are bats good?
Most U.S. bats eat insects. A single bat can eat up to 1,200 mosquitoes in one hour. Some bats in the Southwestern U.S. also pollinate plants like the big saguaro cactus while drinking nectar.
How many bats have rabies?
Fewer than 0.5% of bats have rabies. Since 1960 there have only been 40 reported cases of humans getting rabies from bats.
Do bats suck blood?
Few bats drink blood. However there are some Vampire Bats that live in Central America, South America and Mexico that feed on the blood of warm-blooded animals like horses, cattle and birds.
Source: http://www.eparks.org/wildlife_protection/wildlife_facts/bats/
Plus… come on now, tell me these little guys aren’t the tiniest bit cute!
squueeeeee!
I HEAR yooooou!
Terrifying, ain’t it?
alienredqueen 
We adore them! They do indeed eat those darned mosquitoes and are a marvel to watch while they feed.
Where I live now I only get to see them every once in a while, but I think they’re neat!
How cute are these –
I know, right? Thanks for reading!
Bats are absolutely adorable!
I know! And they’re cool! 😉
Bats are cuties! They’re endangered here, and I want to make bat-houses to encourage them!
Really? Endangered? Just in that area or the whole country or what?
THANK YOU for the mention to its a pussy cats life Alien… Really appreciate that!
Oh i love this post, i really love bats i think they are so cute. Around our home on an evening we have few bats that fly around our windows. Angel and Diesel love to watch them.
I cant remember if you have told me where you live Alien but im in the uk and bats are protected species here in the uk. You can get fined and even imprisonment for hurting/killing a bat. Not sure why anyone would do this to a cute bat but you get some cruel people around.
Great post and thanks again fir the mention 🙂
No problem! I’m in the U.S. And I don’t understand why some people have to hurt any animals, but some people are just so ignorant, and like you said, cruel.
Yeah they are and i too don’t understand some people 😦 least there are some decent folk out there like us bloggers! 🙂
You’re preaching to the choir–I like bats. When I was a kid my mom rescued a young bat, and bottle-fed it for a day until she was able to hand it off to the proper authorities.
Awww… I just have seen bats and snakes and stuff killed for no real good reason, and the people weren’t trying to be cruel necessarily, but their ignorance was making them act foolishly. My mom once killed a snake that had eaten one of the baby birds in a nest on our porch. It was pointless. There was no saving the bird once it was swallowed, and the snake was just doing what snakes do…
They look so cute in their blankets.
I know! Like little burritos! I wonder if it was supposed to be a mock of an Anne Gedde pic or something…. Thanks for reading, BTW!
Your welcome. I love your blog.
Thank you very much!
I hope you had a good Halloween! Bats are adorable. Love these pictures 🙂
Thanks… Actually, Halloween kinda tanked here, lol. My kid was getting over being sick so we stayed in. But I think we had a friend over and had pizza and cheesy garlic bread, so…cheesy garlic bread makes everything better.
Aw, that’s a bummer! No fun being sick on Halloween! But at least there was cheesy garlic bread 🙂