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That's right! It's International Bat Appreciation Day! We share our planet with over 1400 species of bat, making the second most abundant mammal order, and they perform a wide variety of ecological roles, from dispersing seeds to pollinating flowers to eating thousands of insects in a single night! Over 200 bat species are listed as Threatened by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature--that is over 14 percent of all bats!
YOU can help endangered bats today by donating to Pennsylvania Bat Rescue at this link. This PA-based organization rehabilitates sick or injured bats and helps educate people like you and me in how we can create more bat-friendly environments.
If you want to learn about particularly-cool bat species native to New Zealand, check out this Consider Nature article on the Pekapeka, the bat that walks:
Note: Consider Nature contains some strong language and adult themes which may be inappropriate for younger readers. Reader discretion is ad
For the rest of the day, Consider Nature will be bat-bombing Tumblr with some of our favorite bat species to share them with the world!
Alt text: a small brown bat stretching its wings with the kind of fabulous flourish that would impress Ryan Evans.
