Bats are seriously misunderstood creatures.
When I say bat, you say: Vampires! Blood! Scary!
When I say bat, I think:
Awwwwwww!
Cuteness.
Cuteness.
Long tailed bats and short tailed bats are the only land mammals native to New Zealand.
They roost in small crevices and holes, in trees and some urban structures. When the bats go to sleep, they will not wake up until nightfall, as the bats descend into a type of trance. Even if they are shaken out of their roosts, they will simply fall to the ground, where they can be trodden on, or eaten by stoats and other introduced pests.
Due to a number of threats such as habitat loss and predation from pests, these particularly vulnerable fuzzballs are classed as critically endangered.
Bats are far more interesting than they appear to be; underneath their stereotype of being vicious, scary blood thirsty creatures (which is ridiculous when you consider there are perhaps as many as 1,200 species of bat, and only 3 have blood as a part of their diet) they are actually very fascinating, spunky creatures.
So, just because animals may look one way, or have a bad rap, like bats, doesn't mean that we shouldn't protect them, or spend time and money researching them.
In fact, National Geographic's latest issue (January 2016) has a section on the importance of vultures for the wellbeing of the Saharan ecological system! I don't know any animal with a more repulsive reputation than that, yet this article explains how important they are in stopping infection that could be otherwise passed on by rotten carcasses.
It is my opinion that every animal has a key role in the ecosystem, if it is not blaring the apparent in the present, we can be sure it will be some time in the future.
Aesthetics or reputation do not negate the importance of an individual, or their interestingness.
The same can be said for humans!
With this idea in mind, always keep an eye out for some unusual and unique species. You never know what you might find.
Thanks for reading,
Grace
Photo of bat from NZ DoC website
They roost in small crevices and holes, in trees and some urban structures. When the bats go to sleep, they will not wake up until nightfall, as the bats descend into a type of trance. Even if they are shaken out of their roosts, they will simply fall to the ground, where they can be trodden on, or eaten by stoats and other introduced pests.
Due to a number of threats such as habitat loss and predation from pests, these particularly vulnerable fuzzballs are classed as critically endangered.
Bats are far more interesting than they appear to be; underneath their stereotype of being vicious, scary blood thirsty creatures (which is ridiculous when you consider there are perhaps as many as 1,200 species of bat, and only 3 have blood as a part of their diet) they are actually very fascinating, spunky creatures.
So, just because animals may look one way, or have a bad rap, like bats, doesn't mean that we shouldn't protect them, or spend time and money researching them.
In fact, National Geographic's latest issue (January 2016) has a section on the importance of vultures for the wellbeing of the Saharan ecological system! I don't know any animal with a more repulsive reputation than that, yet this article explains how important they are in stopping infection that could be otherwise passed on by rotten carcasses.
It is my opinion that every animal has a key role in the ecosystem, if it is not blaring the apparent in the present, we can be sure it will be some time in the future.
Aesthetics or reputation do not negate the importance of an individual, or their interestingness.
The same can be said for humans!
With this idea in mind, always keep an eye out for some unusual and unique species. You never know what you might find.
Thanks for reading,
Grace
Photo of bat from NZ DoC website
Ok so bats are cute. Great Blog Grace. I have passed it on. I hope you are having a great holiday and your NCEA results were what you wanted. Hopefully we will catch up with you guys soon after we get back. Suzanne x
ReplyDelete