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First-graders learn about state's flying mammals
Bats serve many useful purposes, but many myths exist, coordinator tells children
By LEWIS DELAVAN News editor
 | | CLOSEUP OF A BAT LEWIS DELAVAN PHOTO Bryant Elementary School first graders observe part of a bat skeleton after a presentation by Jane Jones Schultz. First-grade classes studied the flying mammals prior to the visit by the state Natural Heritage Commission education coordinator. |
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Big bats. Little bats. Mosquito-eating bats. Vampire bats!
The latter received the largest reaction from Bryant Elementary School first graders recently during a presentation by Jane Jones Schultz, information and education coordinator, state Natural Heritage Commission.
Sixteen bat species live in Arkansas - and not one is a vampire bat, students learned. Vampire bats live in Central and South America.
"[Vampire bats] have sharp teeth, but they don't suck blood like you do through a straw. They make a tiny cut in the surface of the skin," she said. "They lap it up, just like an ice cream cone. They eat a tiny amount - only about a quarter of a teaspoon."
Vampire bats are active at night, when hosts are generally sleeping. Hosts normally don't even wake up while a vampire bat is feeding.
"They are one of the few bats that can walk on all four feet," she said.
Arkansas' bats are all small bats. Larger species live in the tropics.
Some bats eat up to 600 mosquitoes each night. "Some people think that's so neat, they put bat boxes by their home," she said.
Scientists have found some bat colonies devour tens of thousands of troublesome beetles and other insects each summer.
Some bats face possible extinction. State law protects all bats, but Arkansas' three endangered species are also protected by federal law - the gray bat, Ozark big-eared bat and Indiana bat. Only an estimated 1,000 Indiana bats survive. None are Hoosiers.
All survivors live in three Oklahoma caves and two Arkansas caves.
Anything waking up bats may cause starvation. "They have to eat food to last them through the winter. They eat just enough food. When you're hibernating, it takes a lot of energy to wake up."
Caves became maternity colonies in the spring. Starving mother bats threaten the colony. "Then we've lost both generations, and if we keep doing that, the bats become endangered."
The state has placed gates at protected caves - bats fly through the grates easily, but people cannot enter.
Shultz asked students how many babies they thought a mother bat would normally bear annually.
All guesses were too high. "Most bats have only one baby a year. They live up to 20 years, which is a long time for a little mammal."
All mammals can carry rabies, but bats aren't the rabies peril many people fear. Skunks are the top rabies carrier.
Caution should be taken anytime a person sees a wild animal acting sick, or acting without fear of humans.
Shultz told students whenever they see a sick animal, to avoid touching it and to contact a trusted adult.
Bats shouldn't be feared - the little mammals are remarkable creatures, and helpful, she said.
If bats are found awake in the daytime, or fail to fly off when a person approaches, they should be considered sick. For more information, visit the state Game and Fish Commission's Internet site at http://www.agfc.com, and type "bats" in the search field.
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