Short and sweet this week folks. I found this video a while ago, and just love it! Lil’ Drac is a short-tailed fruit bat abandoned by his mom and raised by the folks at Bat World Sanctuary in Texas.
Why bats? Aren’t they icky, scary bloodsuckers? On the contrary, they pollinate and eat bugs. If you have bats in your area you can thank them for helping keep the insect populations in check. Go ahead and enjoy those bananas, mangoes and guava, all pollinated by bats.
This quickly became one of my favorite memes on Facebook.
I love bats! I always wanted to have one as an education animal when I worked at the Zoo, but it never happened. So, I am content to enjoy them from afar, and ask Hub to build us a bat house.
What’s a bat house? Why would you want one? A bat house provides a safe place for bats to roost and sleep. With increased habitat loss, bat populations are in trouble. You can provide a safe home for bats on your property, keep them from roosting inside your house and under your eaves, and reap the benefits of their insect control. Check out why we need bats, and why bat houses are a great idea here.
Go on, put up a bat house. Go Batty!
I love this! what a wonderful video–I’m a big fan of bats, too.
It makes me tear up every time I see it. We could never have a bat at the Zoo as an education animal, something about not being able to vaccinate them against rabies, so we couldn’t handle them. I was always bummed that we couldn’t share them with the public up close and personal. There were big fruit bats on exhibit though, very cool!
There is someone not far from here who makes bat houses. Now I’m convinced to stop by and pick up a couple! I see them fly around here in the summer evenings and I’m always glad to see them because I know they are eating the pesky bugs!! Thanks, Serena!
Yay! More bat houses!
Since I love vampires, bats will always have a special place in my heart. 🙂
Naturally. 🙂
Love the video. I wanted to build a bat house too because we had a bat in our house one time. My husband was freaking out and so was the poor bat. We, and by we I mean I, trapped him in one room with a door that opened to the outside then I went in the room with the bat and tried to encourage him to go outside. I had to take cover under the piano before he settled down enough for me to get the door open, but he eventually figured it out and flew out. From that moment on I wanted to build a bat house so he’d have someplace safe to hang out. (And so my husband wouldn’t have to worry about him getting in the house again.) Not sure how he got in the house in the first place but he wasn’t too happy about being in there.
Patricia Rickrode
w/a Jansen Schmidt
Hehe, funny that you were the one who had to chase the bat out. I’m sure bat was as happy to be back out in the night as you were to have him out of there.
I love bats! We put up a bat house last spring, but I’ve read it can take a couple of years before they get occupied. As far as I know, ours isn’t yet – hopefully this spring!
That picture is sooooo cute!
Yay! I’ll have to get Hub to put one up right away if I have to wait for them occupy.