There are certain things in this world that human tend to dislike, and bats are one of them.
Most of the seven species of bats native to Wisconsin have long since migrated south or gone into hibernation for the remainder of the year. But even after they depart, their image lingers as a symbol of the eerie and gruesome Halloween season to come. ??
Dr. Scott Craven, chair of the department of wildlife ecology, said he believes bats play an important role in creating the Halloween atmosphere because of their nocturnal behavior, their long association with vampires and the way they have been depicted in movies.
\It's a logical assumption to make Halloween as creepy as possible, and bats have historically scared people,"" Craven said. ??
David Redell, a graduate research assistant studying the behavioral ecology of bats at the Neda mine hibernation site in Wisconsin, agrees.
""I have heard that nocturnal animals such as owls and bats became symbols of Halloween because they were once thought to be able to communicate with the spirits of the dead,"" Redell said.
Popular misconceptions about bats have abounded for decades, Craven said, some of the most common being that they are all rabid, they purposely become entangled in people's hair and they suck blood. However, bats play a crucial role in nature, a role often shrouded by the stigma that has come to surround these winged mammals.
From plant pollination, to seed dispersal, to producing guano (bat feces) that humans can use as fertilizer, bats serve numerous purposes that vary depending on what part of the world they are in, Craven said.
In Wisconsin, insect predation is the most beneficial role bats serve, Craven said. According to the Bat Conservation International Web site, , a little brown bat can catch up to 1,200 mosquito-sized insects in just one hour. ??
Because of habitat loss and low reproduction rates, bats are vulnerable to extinction. According to the Web site, more than 50 percent of American bat species are in severe decline or listed as endangered.
Luckily, the work done by bat conservationists and educators worldwide in the last 20 years has brought many people to be sympathetic of the situation, Craven said.
""Education about bats and their benefits has gotten more and more media attention than the scare tactics of the past,"" Redell added.
So while you won't see any real bats in the night sky this Halloween, rest assured they-and their voracious appetite for insects-will be back in May.
