A bat may not be as cute as a button, but like buttons, bats certainly hold things together in a healthy ecosystem. Bats devour millions of mosquitoes every night. Bats pollinate flowers that produce fruit. Bats produce guano, or bat poop, which is very useful as a fertilizer to help grow crops. Without bats, clouds of bugs would drive us batty. Without bats we would miss out on quite a few fruits like mangoes, bananas and peaches.
Bats with White-Nose Fungus
Many species of bats are now seriously endangered. A spreading fungus has wiped out large numbers and bat habitats have been taken over by humans. It’s not easy being a bat.
Going Batty
Minor Epauletted Bat from Kenya
It’s not so easy being me
I’m an endangered bat, you see
Not many think I’m very cute
With stringy wings and fuzzy suit
I should be loved, because I try
Echo-Locating Dinner
To eat the pests that multiply
I nightly dine on bugs that bite
By echo-dining while in flight
The farmers think we bats are great
We help the plants we pollinate
But though we’re popular on farms
Bat Pollinating Flower
Most other folk don’t see our charms
The darling Pandas get the press
Us bats are jealous, we confess
But we work hard from dusk till dawn
The world will miss us when we’re gone
What can we do to help these vulnerable critters? One thing that helps is to build bat houses. Did you know that Batman, from the new movie version, has come to the rescue of bats? The cast and crew of the upcoming movie, “Batman vs. Superman; the Dawn of Justice.” have made over a hundred new bat houses from the materials taken from the movie sets. If you weren’t able to buy one of those houses, you can make your own and give your local bats a place to safely roost. Here is a link to building houses for bats: National Wildlife Federation Bat House Plans
