Bats, like snakes, are killed indiscriminately by people who live with fear and have no understanding of our dependence upon other life forms. There are approximately 1,300 species of bats around the world. Of those, only 3 are Vampire bats; which drink the blood of horses and cows – not humans! Bats can be either microbats or megabats. Microbats feed on insects, consuming thousands of mosquitoes in a night. Megabats can feed on pollen, on nectar, or on fruit. I have learned from watching a recent episode of Nature on PBS, that the Tequila Bat is responsible for pollinating the agave flowers. Agave is used in making tequila, which is an important source of revenue for Mexico. While this bat flies from flower to flower, drinking the nectar, it helps to pollinate the flowers. Other species of bats feed on the pollen itself, and still others eat various types of fruit such as bananas, avocados, and mangoes.
Flowers depend on millions of other species to disperse their pollen. Honey bees, of course we all know; but many other native bees and various other insects, like moths and butterflies, also play an important role in pollination. Hummingbirds, too, help flowers to reproduce, ensuring another generation. Whenever we apply insecticides and herbicides, we are depriving these insects and bats and hummingbirds, the very food that is meant to keep them alive.
I have always been fascinated by bats. Flying squirrels are another mammal that is intriguing. In the film that I watched, The Bat Man of Mexico, ecologist Rodrigo Medellin, has dedicated 20 years to studying bats. He was actually able to film a Tequila Bat giving birth! Bats are mammals, just like us, and they have nurseries where they care for their young. In my estimation, any species that is capable of flying is as advanced as humans, if not more so. Our brain and our opposable thumbs do not make us smarter or better than other beings, despite how desperately some people want to believe that we are. We are not special. Life is complex, always moving, always changing, always evolving. We are all dispensable and no species is of more or less importance than another. If we harbor hatred for another, human or otherwise, it is really a part of ourselves that we loath. Think about that the next time you encounter a snake or a bat or any other creature that you deem distasteful.
