Celebrate International Bat Night the Last Weekend August

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Are you a little batty for bats? Then International Bat Night is for you.

Organizations around the world hold presentations, bat walks and more so you can see, hear and learn more about bats.

And if you don’t like bats, well the day … Or night … Is still for you. Because once you learn more about these fascinating little critters you’ll be a little batty for them too!

The official date for International Bat Night is the last full weekend in August every year. But that’s flexible, and some organizations choose different dates that work better for them. If you’re interested in being a part of the celebration, double check the dates for any events near you.

This bat-riffic  celebration began back in 1997 (as European Bat Night). And more than 30 countries now take part every year.

But International Bat Night isn’t the only batty holiday around. (No, we don’t mean Halloween!). If you missed it this year, make plans to celebrate Bat Appreciation Day next April 17.

 

Batty Trivia

So, hopefully you already know, but in case you don’t: Bats don’t suck your blood!

Yes, some bats do eat blood. But they rarely target humans. They prefer other large mammals like cows and horses. And they still don’t suck the blood. They scratch their prey and lap up the blood that oozes out of the shallow wound.

In fact, vampire bats are actually quite good little animals. They sometimes adopt orphaned bats. See? They’re sweet!

 

There are more than 1,100 different species of bat in the world

Many, many (MANY!) more bats eat things other than blood.

• Like fruits. And then they spread the fruit seeds around to grow new trees.
• And insects. Like mosquitoes and other pests you don’t want around.
• Some do eat small animals, like frogs. These are some of the bigger bats.

 

Bats are just as important to some plants as bees are to others

Yep, bats can pollinate flowers, and for some plants they are the main or even the only critter that does so. That means some plants wouldn’t exist without bats!

For you tequila and mescal lovers, agave plants rely on bats to pollinate them. Unfortunately, these days most farmed agave reproduces through cloning, because farmers harvest the plants before they flower. But that causes two problems:

• It makes the bats hungry, because they don’t get any flowers to feed on.
• It makes the plant susceptible to being wiped out by disease, which has been happening.

 

Might be time to let the bats do their jobs again!

 

The phrase “blind as a bat” doesn’t apply to all bats

Although many use echolocation to get around and find food, some others actually do use their eyes.

 

Many bats in the US have been dying because of White Nose Syndrome (WNS)

This illness is caused by infection with a fungus. But scientists just might have found a cure for WNS. Apparently there’s a common bacterium that makes an air-borne chemical that stops the fungus from growing. Yay!

Scroll down for some ideas on celebrating this unofficial batty holiday.

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Ideas For Celebrating International Bat Night

Individuals

Get out to the nearest festival, bat walk or education talk to see and learn about bats.

Not sure where to find one? EUROBATS has a searchable listing of events around the world. Now, not all events will be listed here. We only found 3 events in the US for 2017. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t any near you.

For example, Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky holds Bat Night events most years.

It does seem like you have more batty choices outside the US. For example, the largest limestone mine in the world, Mønsted Kalkgruber in Denmark, is home to more than 18,000 bats and also has lots of activities for International Bat Night.

Can’t find an event near you? Learn more about bats on your own.

• Check out the Bat News on EUROBATS.
• The About Bats section of the Bat Conservation Trust’s website includes information on types of bats, where they live, diseases they carry (and why not to be afraid of it), and more.

 

You can find a surprising number of books about bats, too. Try one of these to start:

• Bats: A World of Science and Mystery, by M. Brock Fenton and Nancy B. Simmons
• Bats of the United States and Canada, by Michael J. Harvey
• Bats of the World, by Gary L. Graham
• Bat Ecology, by Thomas H. Kunz: This book is more technical than the others, so if you’re a beginning bat enthusiast, you might want to start with one of the others.

 

The Stokes Beginner’s Guide to Bats can help bat enthusiasts of all ages identify the bats in their own neighborhoods.

Get the kids involved, too!

They might enjoy these books:

• National Geographic Readers: Bats, by Elizabeth Carney: Recommended for ages 5-8.
• Bats, by Gail Gibbons: Recommended for ages 6 and up.
• Bat Love the Night: Read and Wonder, by Nicola Davies: Recommended for ages 4-8.

 

And check out these bat-related activities:

• Find bats to print and color. (page is in Portuguese, but you don’t need to be able to read it to figure out how to click and download).
• Make a bat mask. (link goes right to a printable PDF). Find links to more fun batty activities at the bottom of this page.
• Find lots of bat craft ideas from DLTK’s Crafts for Kids.

 

Organizations

If you’re an organization with an interest in nature or wildlife, or even just getting kids out into nature, consider holding an International Bat Night event.

• The Bat Conservation Trust has some educational resources to help you get started. It includes short films, information on taking bat walks, bat sounds, and much more.
• You can register your event with Eurobats.

 

What are your plans for International Bat Night this year?

 

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