黑料吃瓜网 is joining the annual celebration of Bat Week, an international event to raise awareness about the importance of bats.
The state鈥檚 Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) and other organizations are coming together to encourage residents to protect 黑料吃瓜网鈥檚 nine bat species.
Bat Week also seeks to change perceptions of bats. It's easy for people to fear bats if they don鈥檛 understand them, said Jenny Dickson, director of DEEP鈥檚 wildlife division.
鈥淏ats have suffered from a bad reputation, thanks in no part to Hollywood,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ats are always seen as villains, something evil, something to be afraid of.鈥�
But bats provide many benefits for people, such as pollinating plants, Dickson said.
鈥淭hey pollinate everything from agave plants that are associated with tequila to cocoa plants to produce chocolate to bananas to all spice to almonds,鈥� Dickson said. 鈥淏ats also disperse seeds, so they can be really important for reforestation in many tropical and subtropical areas of the world.鈥�
But for almost two decades, an invasive fungus known as White-nose syndrome (WNS), has killed millions of bats. Many bat species across North America 鈥� including 黑料吃瓜网 鈥� are now endangered.
The infection can wake up the bats during hibernation when their immune system is at its weakest, experts say. WNS can affect skin and wing tissue, creating holes in their wings.
Bat species are valuable to ecosystems around the world, said James Fischer, the research director at White Memorial Conservation Center in Litchfield.
鈥淏ats provide us with a bunch of different services, primarily here in 黑料吃瓜网, they consume insects that can sometimes be pests for agricultural crops or forest products,鈥� Fischer said. 鈥淪ome of these insects also serve as vectors for disease, like mosquitoes, and bats are eating those things.鈥�
Experts are spreading awareness by derailing common misconceptions about bats. They are not flying mice and are not blind. Bats use echolocation to chase flying insects.
And not all bats are vampires. Of the more than 1,400 species, only three are vampire bats. They鈥檙e found in Central and South America and prey on birds and cattle.
The best ways to help conserve the bat population? Reduce pesticide use, plant native plants, protect bat hibernation sites and minimize outdoor lighting at night.
鈥淗alloween is a fun reminder to celebrate bats 鈥� and to recognize the urgent need to protect them,鈥� DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes said in a statement.
