The Daily Populous Saturday February 1st, 2025 evening edition
Image from preview.redd.it and submitted by Dying_Light58

stonecoldbobsaget on February 1st, 2025 at 14:04 UTC »

The ol Transylvanian door stop

Coin_Operated_Brent on February 1st, 2025 at 14:43 UTC »

I bet a whole lot of people ignored the sign and thought that was a doorknob.

askantik on February 1st, 2025 at 14:44 UTC »

Bats are awesome! There are 1,400 species of bats, and they make up 25% of all mammal species. Some are tiny and eat bugs like this little guy, some are in the middle and eat pollen, some have 6ft (1.8m) wingspans and eat fruit. Bats are extremely important ecologically. They help control insect populations (including mosquitos) and are responsible for billions of dollars of beneficial agricultural pest control ($3.7b+ in the US alone annually).

Rabies is a fatal disease and is scary. However, 99%+ of bats do not have rabies. Like any wild animal, it is important to not handle bats unless you are properly trained (bat researchers also get a rabies vaccination). If you are bitten or scratched by a wild animal or an unknown dog, seek medical care and ask if you should receive the post-exposure prophylaxis.

The only reason Americans even associate bats (and foxes and skunks, etc) with rabies at all is because vaccination programs for dogs (and cats) has been so wildly effective (this success has been seen in a variety of other countries, too, from the UK to Mexico). Globally, 99% of human cases of rabies come from dogs. Bats can be reservoirs for some other diseases, but the vast majority of exposure to humans comes through intentional handling.

By the way, bats are not blind. Many use high-pitched (mostly inaudible to us) sound to echolocate, but some species don't echolocate at all and have excellent vision (like flying foxes). Bats are not aggressive and do not want to "fly into you." Some bats are solitary, some congregate in huge groups like the Mexican free-tailed bats at Bracken Cave. Some bats live in the same place year round, and some migrate. Some bats hibernate (technically, they go into torpor) and some do not. Only 3 of the 1,400 species of bats are vampire bats - but they lap up tiny drops of blood (way less dramatic than what you think of when you hear "vampire").

Finally, bats need our help. Habitat loss, deforestation, light pollution, and other factors negatively affect them all around the world. In North America, many species are facing an existential threat from a disease called white-nose syndrome. It's harmless to humans, but suspected to have been brought over by us (cavers) from Europe. Consider planting native plant species, protecting trees (including dead, standing trees if it is safe to do so), using down lights ("dark sky"), and not disturbing roosting bats. Pet cats should be kept indoors!