Post by L Roebuck on Oct 25, 2006 11:16:32 GMT -5
FIVE THINGS: About bats
BY KRISTEN JORDAN SHAMUS
Associated with Halloween, these critters get a bad rap.
BATTY FACTS
Bats are sometimes feared because they can carry the rabies virus. While it's true that bats can contract rabies, the Organization for Bat Conservation estimates that just 1% of the population actually tests positive for the virus.
Nine species of these nocturnal critters call Michigan home, and one of them -- the Indiana bat -- is on the endangered species list.
The bats that live in the Great Lakes State eat pests like mosquitoes. According to the state's Department of Natural Resources, a single bat can eat 600 to 1,000 mosquito-sized insects in an hour.
BIG AND SMALL
Worldwide, there are roughly 1,000 species of bats, according to Dawn Vezina, an education specialist at the Bat Zone at the Cranbrook Institute of Science in Bloomfield Hills.
The biggest is the Malayan Flying Fox, which has a wingspan of up to 6 feet. It weighs more than 2 pounds and eats fruit.
The smallest is Thailand's hog-nosed bat, which weighs just 2 grams and has a 6-inch wingspan.
The Bat Zone, at 39221 Woodward, is home to more than 100 bats from around the world, and it's open to the public for shows at 12:30 and 2:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. For details, call 248-645-3232 or visit www.batconservation.org/content/BatZone.html.
BLOOD SUCKERS?
Although the legend of Count Dracula, the vampire that turned into a bat, originated in Europe, no vampire bats exist on that continent. There are only three species of vampire bats, and they all live in Central and South America. They subsist mostly on the blood of cows, pigs, horses, deer and birds.
Cranbrook's Bat Zone housed about 36 vampire bats two years ago. But today, there are none. Vezina said the last of the vampire bats died about 6 months ago as part of a nationwide die-off.
"There's really no place in the U.S. today where you can see vampire bats in captivity," she said, adding that two things might have played a role: inbreeding and tainted cow blood, which was used to feed the bats.
HOME, SWEET HOME
In Iron Mountain, a special gate was installed at the opening of the abandoned Millie Hill mine in 1993 to keep people out but still allow bats to get in. The mine houses up to 50,000 bats and is one of the biggest colonies in the Midwest. But that's nothing compared to the Congress Avenue bridge in downtown Austin, Texas, where 750,000 to 1.5 million bats roost.
BATTER UP!
Not all bats can fly. Kentucky-based Hillerich and Bradsby Co. makes the Louisville Slugger baseball bat, the official bat of Major League Baseball.
The company uses wood from ash and maple trees grown in northern Pennsylvania and southern New York to make its bats, said Frank Stewart, general manager of Louisville Slugger Division Wood Bat.
Article
BY KRISTEN JORDAN SHAMUS
Associated with Halloween, these critters get a bad rap.
BATTY FACTS
Bats are sometimes feared because they can carry the rabies virus. While it's true that bats can contract rabies, the Organization for Bat Conservation estimates that just 1% of the population actually tests positive for the virus.
Nine species of these nocturnal critters call Michigan home, and one of them -- the Indiana bat -- is on the endangered species list.
The bats that live in the Great Lakes State eat pests like mosquitoes. According to the state's Department of Natural Resources, a single bat can eat 600 to 1,000 mosquito-sized insects in an hour.
BIG AND SMALL
Worldwide, there are roughly 1,000 species of bats, according to Dawn Vezina, an education specialist at the Bat Zone at the Cranbrook Institute of Science in Bloomfield Hills.
The biggest is the Malayan Flying Fox, which has a wingspan of up to 6 feet. It weighs more than 2 pounds and eats fruit.
The smallest is Thailand's hog-nosed bat, which weighs just 2 grams and has a 6-inch wingspan.
The Bat Zone, at 39221 Woodward, is home to more than 100 bats from around the world, and it's open to the public for shows at 12:30 and 2:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. For details, call 248-645-3232 or visit www.batconservation.org/content/BatZone.html.
BLOOD SUCKERS?
Although the legend of Count Dracula, the vampire that turned into a bat, originated in Europe, no vampire bats exist on that continent. There are only three species of vampire bats, and they all live in Central and South America. They subsist mostly on the blood of cows, pigs, horses, deer and birds.
Cranbrook's Bat Zone housed about 36 vampire bats two years ago. But today, there are none. Vezina said the last of the vampire bats died about 6 months ago as part of a nationwide die-off.
"There's really no place in the U.S. today where you can see vampire bats in captivity," she said, adding that two things might have played a role: inbreeding and tainted cow blood, which was used to feed the bats.
HOME, SWEET HOME
In Iron Mountain, a special gate was installed at the opening of the abandoned Millie Hill mine in 1993 to keep people out but still allow bats to get in. The mine houses up to 50,000 bats and is one of the biggest colonies in the Midwest. But that's nothing compared to the Congress Avenue bridge in downtown Austin, Texas, where 750,000 to 1.5 million bats roost.
BATTER UP!
Not all bats can fly. Kentucky-based Hillerich and Bradsby Co. makes the Louisville Slugger baseball bat, the official bat of Major League Baseball.
The company uses wood from ash and maple trees grown in northern Pennsylvania and southern New York to make its bats, said Frank Stewart, general manager of Louisville Slugger Division Wood Bat.
Article