Should we appreciate bats?

UC expert celebrates the only flying mammal, highlights Ohio Bat Fest

University of Cincinnati animal ecologist Joe Johnson says there are lots of reasons to celebrate bats.

"A lot of people think that they might be kind of scary, maybe dirty, maybe make them sick, but bats are pretty elegant creatures," says Johnson, associate professor in the UC School of Information Technology.

"Bats are the only flying mammals, and they're almost 25% of all mammal species on Earth," adds Johnson, who uses data from environmental sensors to understand changes in animal populations. "They are awesome and intrinsically amazing."

"Bats provide billions of dollars of economic services each year," says Johnson. "Here in Ohio, they're important insect predators. All of our bats in this part of the United States are insectivorous."

Why are bats important?

"Bats aren't just eating everyday insects - they eat pests such as some species of moths, mosquitoes and invasive species," adds Johnson. "So bats are playing a tremendous role for our farmers."

"For families who want to go outside and not get hammered with mosquitoes, they're doing a tremendous service for us," he adds. "And around the world, the number of those services only increases. Bats are important pollinators."

They also offer another function for those wanting a bit of rest and relaxation.

"So, for folks who enjoy a margarita on the weekends, bats are the number one pollinator of agave plants," says Johnson. "In fact, it's believed that without bats, agave wouldn't be able to reproduce very well at all. And it just keeps going and going and going. Bats are a really important part of our world."

At the Ohio Bat Fest, area residents can get up close and personal with bats. A wildlife rehabber will bring an ambassador bat, an animal accustomed to being around people. The Greater Cincinnati Grotto, a local cave organization, will also be on hand because many bats are found in caves. Representatives from the Ohio Division of Wildlife and the Great Parks of Hamilton County will answer questions about bat conservation in local parks.

Bats are often found in caves. Photo provided.

"We have demonstrations about what it's like to study bats," says Johnson. "One thing that we do is use drones to study bats. We have a drone that goes up and, weather permitting, we'll show people how we track bats.

"We show people how we catch bats without actually catching a bat," adds Johnson. "We usually just throw some stuffed animals in a net that we use to catch bats and teach kids how to find bats in the wild and how we would maybe mark them with different technologies to study them."

Bats are wildlife, and while there is no need to be afraid of them, it's not a good idea to disturb or pick up a bat that might be sick or injured. Fewer than 1% of bats have rabies, but caution is still important during encounters, explains Johnson.

"By and large, bats aren't anything to be afraid of," says Johnson. "The vast majority of them are out in the woods, being bats and doing all the great things for us."

Learn more about the Ohio Bat Fest.

What's not to love about bats? Photo provided.

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