Bats aren’t bloodsucking monsters. Let this brainy, batty researcher walk you through it

As the sun sets over a popular watering hole in the northeast Los Angeles enclave known as Frogtown, the beer begins to flow. Joey Curti, a conservation biologist, is checking Bluetooth connections, readying the venue for a presentation. But that will come later.

First, he needs to round up the 60 or so who've signed up for Bats and Brews, a collaborative venture with Friends of the LA River and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. The casual event starts with a gathering at Frogtown Brewery, followed by a shadowy, scientific stroll along a scenic stretch of the restored Los Angeles River.

Bats and Brews is just one of the events that fills Curti's calendar. From Ventura County to Elysian Park and La Cañada Flintridge, he leads casual, chatty walks with a purpose: helping people understand why bats are important.

"People have a lot of fears surrounding bats," Curti says. "In urban areas, there are conflicts between wildlife and humans. We have these ideas of bats being bloodsucking monsters. The goal tonight is to educate people and tell them 'No, bats aren't bloodsucking monsters. They're important to the global ecosystem.'"

The first step is a bat walk. At Bats and Brews, it begins just down the street from Frogtown Brewery, where locals congregate.

"I don't just do my work in the lab or the classroom," Curti says. "It's important to come where people are. That's why we're here at a local watering hole, have a one-on-one conversation. Not everybody is going to Google Scholar to learn about bats."

Packing an ultrasonic microphone connected to a tablet, Curti spots bats in much the same way they spot prey - using sound. It helps him spot bats foraging over the river, where mosquitoes and other bat fare are plentiful.

"Open water gives us the best chance to see bats in L.A.," Curti says as he leads the group along the bike path that hugs this stretch of scenic river.

Bats aren't easy to spot, especially in the dark. But with his well-trained eye and handheld tech, Curti turns the walk into something of a treasure hunt. A cheer goes up when the group catches a glimpse of a Mexican free-tailed bat looking for dinner.

Like most of Curti's bat walks, this one is at capacity. The walks are perhaps a twilight cousin of birdwatching, drawing a mix of locals who want to know more about these shy creatures that can weigh as little as five grams. That's about the same weight as two pennies.

Dodging cyclists along the bike path that hugs the Los Angeles River, Curti teaches as he walks.

"Like most wildlife, some of the biggest threats to bats are habitat destruction and animal agriculture," Curti says. "Urbanization is a major factor, too. We build cities in beautiful places with good climates. Those are places bats like to live, too."

Southern California is home to about 21 diverse species of bats, which Curti can easily identify by pointing his microphone toward the bats and checking his tablet.

After a chatty 40 minutes of spotting species like Yuma myotis, along with birds including lack-necked stilts and killdeers, Curti leads the group back to the brewery for beverages. The bat walk transforms into a bat talk.

"I see bats as superheroes," Curti tells the crowd as his animated slides light up the beer garden. "They pollinate and disperse the seeds of over a thousand species of vascular plants. They remove pests that could otherwise transfer diseases to people. And they're important study subjects for research."

That research is key to Curti's work as a postdoctoral fellow in the Blakey and Tingley Labs at UCLA. Curti's research goes beyond bats, encompassing conservation genomics of other native California species like California quail. He also covers ecology and natural history, freshwater ecology and invasive species management. Curti's current research looks at anthropogenic stressors like light and sound pollution and the ways they impact urban bat communities in Los Angeles.

For his bat talks, Curti keeps it conversational. Standing in front of a colorful slide full of cartoon superheroes, he makes his case.

"Bats are amazing, and I want to convince you that they are superheroes!" Curti says. "Bats don't often get sick. They encounter a lot of pathogens, but they very rarely succumb to illness. In the scientific literature, there's never been a documented case of cancer in bats. They age well, living as long as 41 years. They've evolved to eat almost anything, and we're studying these things right now to translate it into ways to help people."

Curti also shoots down myths. One of the most pervasive is that bats are a potent source of rabies. In fact, he points out, 99% of rabies cases are attributable to dogs. According to Curti's calculations, your chances of being struck by lightning are higher than your chance of dying from a rabies infection from a bat.

Having loved bats ever since he was a kid growing up in Mariposa, California, Curti exudes enthusiasm for protecting these tiny, nocturnal flying mammals that have so often been portrayed as spooky characters. Talking to an attentive crowd in the beer garden, he pitches the value bats hold as research subjects.

"All these bat superpowers have translational medicine potential for humans," Curti says. "The more we understand how bats are able to do this, the closer we are to designing therapeutics to increase human health span, solve mysteries of fertility, and learn from these little superheroes."