A Near Drowning

We had a near drowning on Saturday morning.

Hubbs was cleaning the pool and found a bat 
floating face down in our pool.

He grabbed the skimmer and scooped that little bat
out of the water and deposited him on dry land.

A few minutes of drying in the sun
and shaking the moisture out of his fur
and he was gone.

He seemed to suffer no ill effects from his little mishap.
Lucky for him, Hubbs was there to save him.

Until recently, bats used to sort of creep me out.
You know, all the vampire stories, and rabies, 
not to mention the way they look....scarey!!

But what I have come to learn by living on the farm 
is what a very important role bats play.
A typical bat can eat 3000 insects per night,
as he flies around with his sonar guided navigation system.

Unfortunately in the Northeast, bats are succumbing
to a fungal infection known as White Nose Syndrome.
This is especially concerning to me.

Without bats, we would be inundated with annoying insects.


So, next time you see a bat silently fluttering through the night sky,
try to forget the images of vampires that it conjures
and remember that 3000 pesky insects will meet their demise
with the help of 
that tiny nocturnal mammal.

Comments

Sandy said…
Cute little feller! Glad your hubs saved him.
Anke said…
We've had to pull a few things out of the pool (frogs,lizards, moles..) to save them from drowning, but never a bat. We see quite a few here at night and I always enjoy watching them. Even though they do look sorta creepy...
Anonymous said…
"with the help of"???? Did you get interupted?? Bats are creepy but perform an important service..
Anonymous said…
This reminds me of the time I was sitting in the hot tub a few days back during which time -- a bat kept flying above my head -- as a young girl I would have ran into the house but I am to the point now I'd just wish they had a bigger appetite ( for more insects)..
Kelly said…
I love bats. We see them every night on the farm. I think they are wonderful and wish they were out during the day too. Especially during black fly season! Glad to hear that your hubs was there to help the little guy out.
Autumn said…
When the kids were young we sat on the front porch at dusk watching for them and talking about how they locate the insects they gobble up!
countrynmore said…
We have bats all the time around here. Sometimes, they fly just above our heads. It used to creep me out until we went to Carlsbad Cavern in Texas. It is amazing all the bats that fly out the cave at night. I don't mind bats because like you mentioned, "They eat insects."
Susan said…
Oh, that poor sweet little thing. Thank goodness your husband was their to rescue him in time. I actually like bats a lot. And from what I've learned, they do not carry rabies at all. I've been unfortunate (maybe not as unfortunate as the bat) to have a couple in my house. I just put on heavy duty gloves, cornered the poor twittering things, and caught them and set them outside.

I was sad to read about the white nose fungus that is killing them off. I think I'll research this and find out more about it. I'd like to post something up on my sites about it.

Thank you for all the wonderful stories and the education you provide for folks like me.

Hope you have a beautiful day,
Susan
Lots of bats here...glad the bathing beauty was saved. :0) Interesting that it couldn't get out of the water.

Steph ♥