In the United States and Canada bats are active only at night. This makes people who are not aware of their helpful ways afraid of them. Many people think bats are creepy or dangerous.
Some also think they are part of the bird family because they fly. Actually, they are animals. They don’t lay eggs as birds do, but give birth to little ones just as a mouse or a chipmunk does. The mother nurses them, just as most animals do, for a few weeks before they learn to fly and take care of themselves.
How unfortunate that they are so often thought of as evil creatures, for they are one of the most important ways the Creator uses to control mosquitoes and other harmful insects. Some bats eat 600 mosquitoes in an hour, and when you multiply this by the 20 million bats living in just one cave, such as they do in Texas, it figures to a total of about two-and-a-half tons of those pesky insects eaten in just one night. Let’s not discourage bats!
Some varieties prefer fruit and nectar to insects. The Creator has arranged that these bats do an excellent job of pollinating plants, fruit trees and berry bushes as they search for sweet nectar. In fact, there are some flowers and plants that would soon be extinct if they were not pollinated by bats.
Some bats hibernate in the fall and winter after fattening up in advance. But if they should be disturbed and excited, this reserve of fat is not enough to keep them alive very long. Well-meaning but uninformed explorers who bring lights and noise into caves where the bats are resting, awaken and excite them, and many die soon afterward. Thoughtful “cavers” who know this avoid caves where bats are hibernating.
In still other instances, people who do not like bats go into caves and kill great numbers with fire or dynamite, not realizing that these little animals are actually among the most helpful little creatures on the earth.
In certain parts of the British Isles there are wise people doing just the opposite. Old buildings, deserted castles and other places are being fixed up so bats can make their homes in them. When we think how much good these little bits of God’s creation do, we wish people in other places would do the same. We hope that the Creator will not let them be completely destroyed.
In the following two issues we will look individually at some of these likable nighttime creatures.
Did you notice that the beginning Bible verse includes all mankind when it speaks of God’s care over living things? Have you thanked Him for His care and love?
(to be continued)
ML-09/15/1991