Mexican free-tailed bat
Bats are an important part of the eco system. Most species are insect eaters. This little bat pictured above is about 9 cm long and weighs 12.3 g. One hundred million of these little bats will consume 1,000 tons of insects in one night in Texas. This species also pollinates sugar cane.
Unfortunately, bats in general are under attack from a fungus called Geomyces destructans.
This fungus has killed about 6 million bats since its discovery in New York in 2006. This fungus is commonly referred to as WNS (white nose syndrome) because infected bats quite frequently have a white nose when this fungus is present.
There are forty-seven different kinds of bats living in the United States.
I love bats and think they really get a bad rap from the general population. Yes, I know, they fly at night when we can't see them coming; but the idea that they fly into us is pure trash. Their radar is just too sophisticated for that. Who's holding the little fellow, who, I notice, does not have a white nose?
ReplyDeleteThe Mexican free-tailed bat is the official state bat of both Oklahoma and Texas, and its image is the icon for the Bacardi rum brand and for Freetail Brewing Company in San Antonio, TX. I "borrowed" the photo from Wikipedia.
ReplyDelete