Baturday News is a weekly blog written by Rachael, a high school student, bat advocate, and Save Lucy volunteer. Rachael’s interest in bats was sparked by the big brown bats that used the outside of her former home for a winter roost. Rachael has been writing the Baturday News for over three years.

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a good week! As some of you might know this past week was Shark Week, and even though it was not Bat Week, I am trying to be happy that the sharks got recognized. I saw in the Washington Post (July 22) that a 12-foot shark was spotted last week off the coast of Ocean City. The Great White is named Hilton because he was first spotted off Hilton Head, SC. He is HUGE! He weighs 1,326 pounds!!! That is a lot more than a little bat!

And now for the bat news…I found an article about a bat study they are doing at Mammoth Cave National Park. Scientists are going to use the data they collect to understand how bats use the park and how people can work to protect them in the park. This study is important because it will show scientists how white nose syndrome is affecting the bats that use the caves at Mammoth Cave to hibernate. Since WNS was first found in the park, more than 90% of the little brown bats that lived there have been lost.

One thing in the article that I disagree with is when an intern said “Whew! They stink.” I believe she is mistaken. Bats smell just lovely! It is quite possible that bats think humans are stinky. Ok, well maybe bats are a little odorous, but they aren’t as bad as some other animals. I won’t mention them here because I don’t want to hurt any little furry feelings but there are some black and white critters that might be a little more stinky than a bat.

Anyway, if you’d like to read the article, you can find it here.