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FLORIDA
HAS WORLD'S LARGEST
BAT HOUSE
Located in Gainesville,
FL and found right in the middle of their busy college campus. This Bat house was built because Bats were found
in one of the campus buildings, and the Bats needed to be removed.
This house was built for
a cost of around $20,000.00. It had to be structurally sound, and made to go through hurricane winds.
It is found across from a lake area where there is parking for about 15 cars. Then one only has to cross a one lane
street, and then from the sidewalk one can view this house. People come nightly to view the Bats leaving.
Even though the removed
Bats were placed in the house they were gone the next night. It then took about three years before the Bat House
was used. I believe there are now 250 thousand Bats, and it will hold 500 thousand. Note: I need to check
out these figures for you.
| CLICK PHOTO: Read University of Fl Bat House Info |
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| This is the view from the sidewalk. There is a fence to keep people from walking up to the house. |
| There is also a fence around the Bat House area. |
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| CLICK PHOTO: see the underneath on the Florida Bat Center Site |
| HOW COULD YOU NOT LOVE THEM! |
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| Unknown Photographer - Not a United States Bat - Click on Photo to go to Bat Crew Site |
WHY DO YOU WANT TO LEARN
AND HELP BATS?
Most
people believe bad things about Bats. These ideas probably came from our days of watching Count Dracula movies with
Vampire Bats attacking people. Or, we have heard of people getting bitten from picking up a bat found on the ground.
Education
really is the key to understanding everything in life. And it should be no different with bats. Read and learn
about their part in our World.
Yes,
there is such a thing as a Vampire Bat that does drink blood. This type of bat is found down around Mexico, and in some Texas
areas. The bat makes a small bite on a cow, and then peacefully laps up the cow's blood. The cows do not
seem to mind so much, but it does make them a bit weaker, and would be better for the cow's health if these bats would not
bit them.
Then
yes, people do get bitten by bats, but these are bats ones they have found on the ground and picked up. Now if we knew,
that if a bat is healthy you would never but never, find it on the ground. So, only sick bats are found on the ground.
Do they
carry rabies? Yes, they could carry Bat Rabies. Just like dogs could have Dog Rabies, and Raccoons could
have Raccoon Rabies. If a bat is on the ground it is sick, and if it has rabies it will soon die. So you will
not catch rabies, unless you try to pick it up, nor will the sick bat be giving rabies to other bats. All
bats do not normally have rabies, only a very small percent carry rabies. Just like you probably would not pick up a
rattlesnake, do not pick up a bat on the ground.
If you
do have a Bat Rescue close to your area contact them to come and help the down bat. Also bats swooping around are
not trying to go after you, or want to get into your hair. They are following the sound of bugs to eat.
There
are 17 types of bats found in Florida, and about 40 types in the United States. Each type of bat helps nature in their
special way.
Do read
bat books, or watch bat videos/CD's. Yes, you have heard they eat tons of bugs each night, traveling for hours and miles
and miles. But did you know that most of the fruits and vegetations were started by bats? They eat continuously,
and every 20 minutes eliminate seeds of what they are eating. Those seeds drop to the ground and eventually start to
grow, which could be miles away from the original plant. That is why their are so many different kinds of bats.
They are our biggest pollinators of plants and fruits. Take notice of their different shapes and sizes. Such
as, a long tongue to reach deep into a flower to get nectar, but at the same time they get their face covered with pollen.
The next flower they go to getting nectar they then pollenate the plant leaving the pollen from their face from the last
plant.
Read
and learn more of what they do for us. We need them to continue to live the good lives we have. Bats need our
help in making new homes for them, and you can help.
Make
a difference. Read, learn, and then put up a Bat House!
NOTE:
Christy's Bluebird Project is not all about Bluebirds or Bats. As we help our particular land area, we have the opportunity
to help our whole community. I like to think that each of us are making a difference in our North American Continent.
Yes, each of us makes a difference!
| Jamaican Fruit Bat-Found in Key West, FL |
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| Taken by Robin Rice-Click on Photo to Learn About Bat Housing from Bat Crew Site |
Bats of Florida
Our Bat Pages
can only give you bits and pieces of Bat Information. What is most important, is that you can find most of the
best Bat information found on the Internet. Below are Bat Sites you should check out:
BAT
LINKS
BAT INFORMATION - A little bit of good info.
BAT CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL - A great site to see what is happening with Bats all over the World.
BAT WORLD SANCTUARY - Large organizational site.
BUZBEE'S BATS - Jim put together an accumulation of Bat information from everywhere. Amazing quanity! Note: He even mentioned
our site!
FLORIDA BAT CONVERVANCY - A Florida Bat site.
HOUSE BAT MANAGEMENT - A study by Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center. Many professionals have submitted information
for this very long detailed study on Bats. Very interesting, and is easy to read and understand. NOTE: Once at the site click
RESOURCE FINDER then MAMMALS then look down to the first section of the outline, for Bat House Management
VIDEOS OF BATS - UTube - Home made movies.
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