Bat Importance and Conservation
Michigan Bats
Bats are not blind - The bats founds in Michigan can see and echolocate. Echolocation is a type of radar that is not auditable to the human ear. Bats use echolocation to locate their food.
Bats will not get tangled in your hair. They are more interested in the insects that are buzzing around your head. This may explain whey they appear to follow you around on your evening stroll.
Michigan bats do not suck blood. Only vampire bats that are found in Southern Mexico, Central America and South America drink blood. They are not even interested in human blood. They prefer the blood of cows and pigs.
Michigan bats do not eat fruit. There are no fruit bats in the United States. All of Michigan's bat species rely on insects for food.
Bats rarely get rabies. In nature, it has been documented that 0.5% of bats have rabies. However, if you contract rabies it can be fatal. Bites or exposures to animals must be taken seriously.
Bats are not rodents. The belong to the order called "Chiroptera", which means hand wing. Bats do not chew holes to enter homes (like rodents). Bats are the only mammal capable of flight, without the aid of an airplane.
People can experience problems with Michigan bats all four seasons of the year.
