Posted By RichC on July 25, 2021
So what do you know about bats?
Personally, I didn’t know very much at all. I see them regularly in the evening sky darting around and have always repeated the mantra that they are good for the environment because they 
eat mosquitos and pesky insects (article). Beyond that … and the vampire stories … I really don’t know all that much except that the one in the pool has beautiful white teeth (so much for eating insects). We’ve had ducks, mice, rabbits, crawdads, snakes, etc in the pool, but this is a first time for a bat.
Last week after working in the yard late one evening, I jumped into the pool to cool off and freshen up before heading into the house. I ended up swimming with something doing the same although it wasn’t swimming, seeming to cling to one of the broken tiles at the end of the pool. It was dusk so it sort of looked like a large mouse or something but after some wave-making on my part, it washed back into the pool and tried to spread its wings. Hm, I’ve heard of “bats in the belfry” … a phrase for being crazy or eccentric … but not “bats in the pool.”
Of course a bit more attention has been given to bats since the Coronavirus pandemic since research in Wuhan China was focused on cave and bat viruses (or wet market theories if you of that line of thinking). Here at home, bats have often been associated with rabies, although it is far more likely a person will be bit by an infected dog, coyote, fox, skunk or raccoon than a bat.
As for our little half drown bat (not sure what specie) … I’ve got him in a bucket in hope he will dry out and can head back to his roost. So far, he does not move much so the prognosis this Friday night is not looking all that good (I’ll update if the outcome is positive).
The 14 Bat Species Found in Ohio
More than 1,200 different bat species currently inhabit Earth, and the world’s only flying mammal has a long-lasting history on our planet. Fossil records date back more than 50 million years. In Ohio today, there are a total of 14 bat species to be found, and all of these species eat insects exclusively, using echolocation to find their prey. Here’s a quick overview on each species found in the state, based on information from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and Bat Conservation International:
(more…)
Category: Environment, Health, Idioms, Nature, Personal, Photos |
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Tags: animals, backyard, bats, china, coronavirus, covid19, idioms, pandemic, pool, rabies, wet market, wildlife, wuhan
This post also give me an excuse to post a 
control.
