In North America, bats are active only at night. This makes people, who are not aware of their helpful ways, afraid of them. Many people think bats are creepy or dangerous.
Some also think they are part of the bird family because they fly. Actually, bats are mammals. They don’t lay eggs as birds do but give birth to babies, just as mice or chipmunks do. The mothers nurse them, just like most mammals, for a few weeks before they learn to fly and take care of themselves.
How unfortunate that they are so often thought of as evil creatures, for they are one of the most important ways the Creator planned to control mosquitoes and other harmful insects. Some bats eat six hundred mosquitoes in an hour! When you multiply this by the twenty million bats living in just one cave, such as in Texas, you reach a total of about two-and-a-half tons of those pesky insects eaten in just one night! Let’s not discourage bats!
Some bat varieties prefer fruit and nectar to insects. The Creator has included in His design for these bats to pollinate plants, fruit trees and berry bushes as they search for sweet nectar. In fact, there are some flowers and plants that would soon be extinct if they were not pollinated by bats.
Some bats hibernate in the fall and winter, after fattening up in advance. However, if they should be disturbed and become excited, this reserve of fat is not enough to keep them alive for very long. Well-meaning but uninformed explorers who bring lights and noise into caves, awaken and excite the resting bats, and many die soon afterward. Careful “cavers” who know this avoid caves where bats are hibernating.
In still other instances, people who do not like bats go into caves and kill great numbers with fire or dynamite, not realizing that these little animals are actually among the most helpful of the little creatures on the earth.
In certain parts of the British Isles, there are wise people doing just the opposite. Old buildings, deserted castles and other places are being fixed up so bats can make their homes in them. When we think of how much good these little creatures of God’s creation do, we wish people in other places would also help protect them. We hope the Creator will prevent them from being completely destroyed.
In the following two issues we will look individually at some of these likable nighttime creatures.
Did you notice that the beginning Bible verse mentions “all mankind” when it speaks of God’s care over living things? That includes you. Have you thanked Him for His care and love?
(to be continued)
ML-11/19/2006