Thankfulness Friday - Bats

Over the past few years, the bats that live up and down the eastern side of US, from New England down to Kentucky, have suffered and died from the White-nose syndrome.  This is caused by fungus that grow on the muzzles of hibernating bats.  The itchiness causes hibernating bats to wake up prematurely and leave their caves in search for food.  Once they leave the caves, they pretty much freeze to death.  Millions of bats have died from this.  In fact, the grounds of cave entrances are covered with bat carcasses and look like a layer of brown carpeting.

The dramatic decrease in the bat population has been obvious in the southeastern PA area.  At twilight, we don't see bats flying overhead anymore.  To me, they are kind of scary looking and carry to stigma of being blood-sucking, disease-carrying creatures.  In the Chinese culture, they are a symbol for prosperity.  But, bats do eat a lot of mosquito.  With the damp summers we've been having, creating breeding grounds for the mosquito, I sure miss these bats. 

Bats are symbols of prosperity in the Chinese culture and adorn Prince Gong's palace in Beijing.

So, recently, I was happy to hear that a small population of bats developed resistance to the White-nose syndrome, and the bat population is climbing back up close to what it was before the crisis.  We even caught one in our attic!  Gasp!