BATS: OUR BACKYARD FRIENDS
HELPING OUT MUCH-MALIGNED CREATURES Karin melberg schwier
Kenton Lysak wants to get something straight right off the bat. Kenton, a senior interpreter with the Meewasin Valley Authority, has educated and converted thousands of schoolchildren and probably as many adults—including his Baba— with his simple message: bats are our friends. In fact, bats are an important
part of that interdependent Jenga block game that is the delicate ecosystem of the South Saskatchewan River valley. Rather than objects of fear and loathing, bats provide a valuable service in the natural order of things, including pollination and mosquito control, consuming an average of 1,200 an hour, up to 8,000 a night. Who
doesn’t like that? These creatures deserve a lot more respect and a better helping hand than they get. Debunking the Bunk Bats don’t have it easy. Myths abound: They fly into your hair. They’re blind. They’re flying mice. They suck blood. They suck your blood. Every one is disease-
ridden with nasty things like rabies. Like that of most misunderstood beings, the bad reputation bats endure is based mostly in fear and lack of information. Thanks to folklore and bad movies since the 1930s in which the bat was a favourite horror device, the mammal has had a long uphill climb for redemption. As a Saskatoon HOME fall 2020 |
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