Bats

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Bats are cool

Bats are the only true flying mammals. There are over 1,400 species of bats, and they can be found on nearly every part of the planet. Not only are they cute, they are also important...

Studying how bats use echolocation has helped scientists develop navigational aids for the blind. Without bats’ pollination, seed dispersal, and pest control we wouldn’t have bananas, avocados, mangoes, agave, or cacao… that’s right, bats bring us tequila and chocolate!

Found a bat in need of help?

Do not handle it with bare hands! Bats can carry rabies.
Here's a map of worldwide rescues and temporary care instructions.
Bats should never be kept as pets: Here's why.

Celebrate bats with us!

Our community's mascot is Baxter. Baxter is an Egyptian fruit bat that was cruelly kept alone and confined to a small cage for 12 years before being rescued by a bat sanctuary. You can read the full story by clicking on his name.

Our rules for posting and commenting, besides the rules defined here for lemmy.world, are as follows:

Be respectful and inclusive

Everyone should feel welcome here. Hateful or bigoted language will not be tolerated.

No illegal or NSFW or NSFL content

Don’t post anything a fruit bat would not approve of.

No bat hate

Please don't hate on bats in this community (this includes all of your edgy covid humor).

No advertisement or spam

Bats don’t like spam.

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founded 1 year ago

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ickplant

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PSA: Bats are capable of living over 25 years. Bats kept as pets rarely survive more than one year. Please do not keep bats as pets! (batworld.org)

submitted 1 year ago by ickplant to c/bats

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Try to imagine what this feels like… someone takes you captive, you don’t know why. You don’t speak their language and you are powerless to escape. You have no idea what they want of you, and you are terrified.

Your captor locks you in a bathroom. This bathroom has a window covered with shade, but you are not allowed to open it to get fresh air or even look outside. There is a sink, but only your captor knows how to turn the water on. There is a toilet that you can eliminate, but only your captor decides when it should be flushed.

You get the same thing to eat day after day after day after day. When you don’t feel good no one knows how to help, so you suffer in pain. There are no pictures on the walls, no TV, no computer, no phones, and no friends. You have absolutely nothing whatsoever to help you pass the endless days and nights. If you are lucky you might have a companion, but otherwise, you are completely alone, and this is where you will spend every single day for the rest of your natural life.

This is what a bat feels when we take it into captivity.

I know we joke about bats being sky puppies in this community, but they are wild animals and they belong in the wild (or in specially designed sanctuaries if they are too injured to survive on their own).

If you ever see someone keep a bat as a pet, please try your best to educate them and let them know that Bat World will take their pet in to rehabilitate, no questions asked.

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[–] RedAggroBest 10 points 1 year ago

They might even thank you