Hi everyone! I hope you all had a good week! Mine was pretty good. I had to do a one-minute speech in my government class. We were supposed to act like we were talking to Congress and were trying to persuade them to fund our project. Well, of course, my speech was to ask Congress for more funding to find a cure for White Nose Syndrome. I got an A!!! And now for the truly exciting news! A new Bats Aren’t Scary video was released on Friday. This one is titled “A Change of Heart” and stars a handsome little bat named Delbert. It also stars a human named Shelly. Shelly meets little Delbert and is scared. Thanks to some absolutely amazing acting by little Delbert, Shelly has a change of heart and decides that maybe bats aren’t scary at all. I don’t want to ruin it for you. You need to watch the video yourself. But I will tell you that Shelly not only changes her mind about bats, but she also educates others about how awesome bats are. I really do believe that little Delbert could win some awards for this performance. I mean, really, there is a little bit of everything in this film. There is his graceful flying, his expressive scream of fright, and the last scene…amazing! And while I am discussing the acting in this video, let’s discuss Shelly. For a human, she does a wonderful job. She might be a contender for Best Supporting Actress! And now, without further ado, please watch the video for yourself. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. If you would like to watch it over and over again, you can find it here and here. All the Bats Aren’t Scary videos are free for anyone to use–just […]
Hi everyone! I hope you had a good week and a happy Thanksgiving! I had a nice quiet holiday with lots and lots of food. Since Thanksgiving is supposed to commemorate a treaty signed between the Wampanoag people and the English settlers, and Friday was Native American Heritage Day, I would like to dedicate this blog to all the Indigenous People of the Americas. Native American Heritage Day is a day that recognizes all the contributions Native Americans have made as well as their heritage and history. I thought it would be nice to research some Native American stories about bats. I couldn’t find any Wampanoag stories, but I did find a nice Ojibwe one. This story describes how bat came to be. It starts with the sun getting stuck in the branches of a tall tree. A little squirrel saw him and desperately tried to save him. The little squirrel got badly burned, his skin got stretched, and the bright sunlight blinded him. Despite his injuries, the little squirrel kept trying and eventually saved the sun. As a reward for the little squirrel’s heroism, the sun helped the little squirrel. He stopped the squirrel’s pain and gave him the ability to fly. Little squirrel became the first little brown bat. The Ojibwe people tell the story much better than I do, so if you would like to read it, you can find it here. I hope you all have a great week.
Hi everyone! I hope you had a good week! I had a pretty good one because I have been looking forward to going camping. That’s right! I am going camping tonight! And then tomorrow, I am going caving. I’ve never been caving, so I hope it’s a lot of fun. This week has been a hard one for a lot of people around the world. People in Puerto Rico are still without power. There were several major earthquakes around the world. Some really bad ones were in Chile and at the border between Iran and Iraq. In addition to all that, there has been a political crisis in Zimbabwe. My thoughts are with everyone affected by these difficult situations. My family has recently become friends with some people in Zimbabwe. We have heard from one friend who said that people in his area are doing well, but we haven’t heard from our friend in Harare. We are worried about her and hope everyone there is ok. In her honor, I thought it would be nice to research bats from Zimbabwe. They have a lot of really cute ones. I decided the cutest one is the Sundevall’s Roundleaf Bat. I think this little bat looks like a little piggy. They have long gray or bright orange fur with brown wings. They also have big round ears and a horseshoe-shaped nose that reminds me of my pug. These bats are common throughout much of Africa. Their diet consists of mostly moths, but they also eat beetles, flies, and other insects. The Sundevall’s Roundleaf Bat likes to roost in caves, tree hollows, mines, and attics. Some of their cave roosts are really big. One cave in Gabon has 500,000 of these bats. If you would like to read more about these adorable […]
Hi everyone! I hope you all had a good week! I had a pretty good one because last weekend was a four-day weekend! That’s right, I had Monday and Tuesday off of school. That means that not only did I have a four-day weekend, but I only had a three-day school week! Personally, I am of the opinion that I should have had Veteran’s Day off as well, but I suppose the people in charge thought students needed more than a two-day school week…I do not understand why! I do hope that all the veterans out there (and all the lucky people who got to stay home and not go to school) enjoyed their special day. I recently heard about a place called Batman. Batman is, of course, my favorite superhero. So, when I heard that there was a place called Batman, I began investigating. Apparently, this place has been in southeastern Turkey all along, and I didn’t know about it! Southeastern Turkey sounds like the perfect place for a vacation. It has mountains, wildflowers, and waterfalls. It also has caves and some of the world’s oldest archaeological sites. The town of Batman is the area’s third largest city. Until 1957, the town was called Iluh. In the 1940’s oil was found in the area and the town grew. Shortly after that is when it was renamed Batman after the Batman River nearby. This wonderful place also has some amazing bats living there. It was hard for me to pick a favorite, but if I had to pick, I think I’d pick the Bechstein’s bat because of its adorable big ears. This lovely little creature has nice fluffy, reddish-brown fur and its face is really cute and pink. The Bechstein’s bat eats insects and lives in tree holes. If you’d […]
Hi everyone! I hope you all had a good week! I had a lot of fun at the Botanic Gardens last weekend. It was so much fun talking to everyone about bats. A lot of people came by and the bats loved all the attention they were getting. They also liked all the juicy mealworms that they got to eat. A few days ago, Save Lucy shared an article. I thought it was really interesting. The article was about how bat pups pick up bat dialects. A team of scientists wanted to know if bats could pick up other bats’ dialects when introduced to them. They raised 14 little bat pups with their mothers. The bats were all from different colonies. The scientists played three subsets of recordings of natural bat sounds. This continued until the pups were adults. Since the pups were raised with their mothers, they learned to speak like she did, but with the introduction of other bat dialects via the speakers, they also learned how to speak in the dialect the speaker was playing. Isn’t that cool? Until this study, scientists thought humans were the only ones who could pick up different dialects. People have different accents and dialects depending on where they are from. Over time, people learn how to copy others’ accents or to drop their own accents in order to communicate. If you would like to read the article, you can find it here. And now for a public service announcement or two… Daylight Savings time ends tomorrow. Don’t forget to set your clocks back an hour. Also, Election Day is Tuesday. Don’t forget to vote. The little bats are counting on their human friends to do all the voting for them. Sadly, bats aren’t allowed to vote. I hope you all have […]
HAPPY BAT WEEK EVERYONE!!!!! Hi everyone! I hope you all had a good week! I had a great one because it has been Bat Week. I have bats decorations on my house and I’ve been looking for bats outside. I haven’t seen too many lately, but I know they’re there. I hope you have all enjoyed doing batty things all week long. I am especially excited that the “Bat Bonanza” Festival at the Botanic Gardens in DC is tomorrow. I can’t wait to go again this year. It will be at the Conservatory from 10 AM – 5 PM. I hope to see some of you there. I will be the one in some sort of batty clothing…ok, a lot of people will be wearing batty things, but I’ll be one of them. I hope everyone had an opportunity to watch the newest episode in the “Bats Aren’t Scary” series. This wonderful video starred an absolutely beautiful bat named Estelle. Supporting roles were played by her children and a few humans and insects. Estelle performed masterfully in her role as Protector of Plants. In this video, we learned about how bats like Estelle save our food supply from being eaten by pesky bugs. I’m sure everyone agrees that little Estelle should be the recipient of an award or two for this amazing performance. If you would like to view the video again, you can find it here. Or watch it now! Not only are wonderfully batty things happening around here, but there has been some good news out of New Hampshire in the world of bats too. (Thank you Aunt Kim for sending me the article.) There is a mine in North County, New Hampshire that is home to little brown bats and northern long-eared bats. Since both of these […]
Hi everyone! I hope you all had a good week! I would like to dedicate this week’s blog to all the people affected by last weekend’s events in Somalia. My thoughts are with you. And now for the most wonderful news of all…BAT WEEK is almost upon us!!! International Bat Week will be from October 24th – October 31st. There are exciting events scheduled all over the world for this wonderful event, but I am most excited about one scheduled in Washington, DC. Once again, there will be a “Bat Bonanza” Festival at the Botanic Gardens. It is being held at the Conservatory from 10 AM – 5 PM, and it is free! If you are in the area, please come out and learn all about bats. The Save Lucy Campaign will be there, which means Mrs. Sturges and our furry friends will be there. I am also going and I hope to see some of you there. For more information, visit here! In addition to the event at the Botanic Gardens, I am excited to tell you all about what the Bat Week team is doing. They are having a recipe contest! Just submit your favorite original recipe that uses bat dependent ingredients and you could win your very own bat detector! They are also having a photo challenge and would love to see pictures of you wearing some adorable bat ears. For more information, go to www.batweek.org. And in breaking news, The Save Lucy Campaign will premier a new animated short to kick off Bat Week. The film stars the adorable and hard-working Estelle! The new animation is made possible by a grant from the US Fish & Wildlife Service. Watch the Save Lucy Facebook page on October 24 for the premier. And, our friends at Sticks & Stones Bat Rescue […]
Hi everyone! I hope you all had a good week. I would like to dedicate this week’s blog to the people affected by the fires in Northern California. I hope that weather brings you some rain soon and the fires can be brought under control. My thoughts are with you all. I am studying poetry in my English class. One of my assignments was to research a famous poet and then to write an original poem using that poet’s style. I researched William Blake, so I decided to try and copy the style he used in his poem “The Tyger”. I wrote about the misunderstood and underappreciated bat that people often call “ugly”. It was difficult to write because, well, bats are adorable! I needed inspiration and as you all know, little bats are very poetic. So, with their inspiration, but definitely not their talent, I managed to write a poem that I would like to share with you all now. I hope you like it. The Bat Big Brown Bat flying light In the skies of the night You’re called ugly by those who see What is outside, not within thee Catching bugs only you can hear How do you see them from so far, not near? With echolocation – a spectacular sense From which a bug has little defense Big Brown Bat in the night Aiding farmers in your flight A life of service. Don’t you see? Helping humans just like me But your appearance causes prejudice Sadly, they don’t see your selflessness Instead they see a hideous troll Missing that deep in your eyes is a loving soul Your purpose in life is actually simple To stray from it would be quite sinful Please save us from the plight Of the unfortunate mosquito bite Big Brown Bat […]
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. She now enjoys watching the bats fly over her home on summer evenings. Rachael has been writing the Baturday News for over three years. Hi everyone! Happy Bat Appreciation Month! I hope you all had a good week! People who were in Las Vegas last weekend had a very bad week. I would like to dedicate this week’s blog to everyone affected by what happened there. My thoughts are with you, your families, and your friends. This week, we will learn about a bat that lives in the Las Vegas area. The California leaf-nosed bat is adorable! It has huge ears, which makes its hearing spectacular. It can even hear the footsteps of a cricket! This is very useful for them because they love to eat crickets. They also eat grasshoppers, katydids, June beetles, diving beetles, and some moths. They have a cute leaf shaped nose that points up. This is where they get the name “leaf-nosed”. They have gray to dark brown fur. These bats have short wings, which makes it hard for them to fly long distances. They don’t migrate, but they don’t hibernate either. They do like to roost in caves and mines. Another interesting fact about the California leaf-nosed bat is that they are unable to crawl on their thumbs like other bats. If you would like to read more about the California leaf-nosed bat, you can read about them here. I would like to wish everyone in the path of Tropical Storm (soon to be hurricane) Nate the best of luck! The storm […]
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. She now enjoys watching the bats fly over her home on summer evenings. Rachael has been writing the Baturday News for over three years. Hi everyone I hope you all had a good week! I found a really cool article about how scientists are studying bat echolocation to help with all kinds of things. The US. Navy is making a new sonar for their ships. The new sonar is going to be based off of how bats echolocate. The Navy ships already have sonar, but it isn’t anything like a bat’s. Even though a bat only uses its two ears and a Navy ship uses complicated sonar arrays, bats still have a better idea of what things are. Using information learned by studying bats, an engineer built a prototype that goes on the nose of an undersea robot. The new device can interpret returning sonar echoes like a bat’s ears. It will also be cheaper, and smaller than their current model. Much like the US Navy, researchers in Israel are also information learned by studying bat echolocation. But instead of using the information to help the military, they are using it to help farmers. Farmers sometimes have trouble knowing how much food they are actually going to get from the plants in their field. Some years, crops might yield more food than others and it is difficult for a farmer to estimate how much they will have from year to year. This makes it difficult for them to determine a good price for that year’s crops and how […]