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Flying through the night,
I watch over this world,
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a silent guardian, a watchful protector,
a dark knight, I'm...
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Okay, fine. So, I'm not Batman.
I'm just a bat.
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But like Batman, I'm often misunderstood.
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People think I'm scary,
strange and dangerous.
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If they only knew my story, though,
I'd be cheered as a hero.
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When people think of bats,
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many think of vampires
who want to suck their blood.
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But the truth is
that out of over 1200 bat species,
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only three are vampire bats.
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Out of these three,
only one prefers the blood of mammals,
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and even these bats mostly feed on cattle.
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Maybe that still doesn't seem so great,
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but vampire bats
can be a great help to humans.
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A chemical known as desmoteplase
found in vampire bat saliva
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helps break down blood clots,
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and is being tested
by recovering stroke victims.
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Of the remaining 1000+ species of bats,
about 70% feed on insects.
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These bats help control
the real vampires:
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mosquitos, whose nasty
bites are not just annoying,
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but spread diseases, like West Nile virus.
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A single little brown bat
can eat 1000 insects every hour,
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and a colony of Mexican free-tailed bats
can eat several tons of moths
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in just one night.
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In the United States alone,
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bats provide an estimated
3.7 billion dollars worth
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of free pest control for farmers,
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which benefits everyone
who eats the foods that they grow.
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Fruit bats, also called megabats
because of their large size,
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are important for the role
they play in plant pollination.
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By traveling between flowers
while feeding on nectar and fruits,
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these bats transport the pollen
and seeds that help plants reproduce.
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In South East Asia, for example,
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the cave nectar bat is the only pollinator
of the durian fruit.
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Other bats pollinate peaches, bananas,
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and the agave plants
that tequila is made from.
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Without them,
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many of our food plants would be unable
to produce the tasty fruits we enjoy.
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As heroes of the ecosystem,
bats have their own unique utility belts.
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Bats have been a source of inspiration
for the design of flying robots,
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and even an energy-efficient spy plane,
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as they are the only mammal
capable of true powered flight.
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Echolocation, a type of biological sonar,
is also used by bats as a way to navigate
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and find prey in the dark.
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Although there's a common
misconception that bats are blind,
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in truth, all species of bats have sight.
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And some have even adapted
large eyes to see better in dim lighting.
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Many people worry
about getting infected by bats,
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and like any other animals,
bats can carry diseases, like rabies.
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In reality, though, less than .5% of all
bats carry this virus.
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That's about the same odds as getting
the same result on a coin flip
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eight times in a row.
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The perception that bats
are often diseased
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may come from the fact that sick bats,
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who may show unusual behavior,
emerge during the daytime,
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or be unable to fly,
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are more likely to be
encountered by people.
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So a good way to protect yourself
is to protect bats as well,
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keeping them healthy,
protecting their habitats,
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and reducing their risk
of transmitting disease.
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In North America, bats are threatened
by a devastating sickness
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called white nose syndrome.
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This fungal infection
causes bats to wake up
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while hibernating during a winter.
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Unable to find food,
they expend large amounts of energy,
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and eventually starve to death.
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White nose syndrome has wiped out
entire caves full of bats,
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with a mortality rate that can exceed 90%.
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Climate change and habitat destruction
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also pose serious threats
to bat populations.
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For example, in January 2014,
a record heatwave in Australia
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caused over 100,000 bats
to die from heat exhaustion.
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Some people just want
to watch the world burn,
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and bats all over the world are threatened
by damage to the places that we call home,
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including mangrove swamps,
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old-growth forests,
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and of course bat caves.
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So even though I'm the hero of the story,
I do need to be saved.
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And now that you know
the true story about us bats,
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you can learn how to protect
such heroic animals.
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Install a properly designed bat box,
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one of the easiest ways
to provide shelter for bats.
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Discourage the use of pesticides,
which can harm bats
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when we try to feed on the insects
you want to get rid of in the first place.
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Avoid going into caves
where you might disturb hibernating bats,
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and always decontaminate
your gear after visiting a cave.
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If you have unwanted bats
living in an attic or barn,
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contact your local government
to safely and humanely relocate us.
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And if you come across a bat,
do not attempt to handle it,
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but instead, call Animal Control.
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Batman might want to keep
his identity secret,
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but a great way to help real bats
is by continuing to learn about them,
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and spreading the truth
that they are real heroes,
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even if their good deeds are often unseen.