27th August: International Bat Night

International Bat Night is observed the last full weekend of August. Bat Night started in 1997 and is celebrated in over thirty countries to inform the public about the needs and benefits of bats in nature.

Despite the what movies and novels might say, bats play an important part in keeping balance in nature. They consume insects that spread disease and damage crops. In the United States, little brown bats common in Kansas, use their echolocation to eat over 1,000 mosquitoes in a single hour. Bats help distribute plants by passing seeds through their feces. The spread of Guano seeds through bats is the main factor for tropical rainforest reforestation.

The expression “blind as a bat” comes from the assumption that a bat’s sense of sight isn’t very good. However, bats have much better vision than humans do and see incredibly well both day and night. The expression “blind as a bat” comes from this assumption. Bats emit a high pitch sound that resonates and bounces off of objects around them, this echolocation (sort of like sonar) helps bats pinpoint the exact location of insects and grab their dinner on the go.