FLYING MAMMALS
Facts can never dispel the element o f mystery that
surrou n d s bats. Their lives are lived in a d imension
so greatly removed from o u r own that an
appreciation of even the simplest elements of their
biology m akes d e m a n d s u p o n the imagination.
On the other hand , the mere m en tion of bats sends
m any people into paroxysm s of fear and images
flood the mind - of darkness and evil, of vampires
and rabies, of wild, erratic flight ending in a
terrifying tangle o f bats and hair. M yths a b o u t bats
ab o u n d (cp. M acbeth, Dracula); also the belief that
all bats d rink blood and th at all are blind.
There are a b o u t 950 different kinds of bats in the
world. Bats vary in size from a b o u t 4 g to species
with a wingspan of 1,5 metres and a mass of 2 000 g.
Besides hanging upside-dow n and flying, some bats
can swim, ju m p , walk, climb, swing, catch fish and
hover at open flowers sipping nectar with long,
hairy tongues.
The m ajority (70%) of bat species eat insects, but
some feed on fish, birds, frogs, fruit, nectar and
pollen. S o m e bat species are k n ow n to live for 30
years. Bats suckle their live-born y o un g ju st as we
do, yet they are the only m am m als with the ability to
fly.
R A B I E S A N D B A T S
Vam pire bats are the cause o f great concern in Latin
A m erican countries. A b o u t two million head of
livestock are lost a nnually with an associated
financial loss exceeding 100 million dollars. In the
United States most of the non -b loo d sucking bats
are carriers o f rabies and bats are regarded as the
n u m b e r one public health hazard.
A lth o u g h fruit-eating bats and many species of
insectivorous bats occur in S o u th Africa, vam pire
bats do not occur anyw here in Africa. At present
there is no evidence to suggest th at So u th African
C h iro p te ra (the o rd er o f bats) are possible vectors of
the rabies virus and their role as vectors of rabies-
related viruses seems insignificant. O f the 410 bats
exam ined for rabies by the Research Institute at
O n d e rs te p o o rt only 14 were found positive for
rabies-related viruses. T hirteen of these were from
C.D. Lynch
D u rb a n and one from Louis T richardt, and in most
cases the species involved was the fruit-eating bat.
However, care should be taken in the interpretation
of these figures, since the sample represents bats
from only one part of So u th Africa.
In conclusion, the con trib utio n of bats as carriers of
rabies and rabies-related viruses is insignificant
com pared with that of other S o uth African
m am m als such as the Yellow mongoose, Black-
backed jackal, semi-feral dog, etc, and in the
Republic there has been only one case of a person
dying after being bitten by a bat.
A v am p ire bat. W alker, M a m m a ls o f the W orld.
H O W B A T S C A M E TO BE
E a r ly o n e m o r n i n g o n his w a y to his h o m e in t h e sk y . F a t h e r S u n g o t c a u g h t in t h e b r a n c h e s o f a tall tree. H e tried t o free h i m s e l f but o n l y e n t a n g l e d h i m s e l f m o r e fi rm ly . T h a t m o r n i n g a ll t h e a n i m a l s w a i t e d in v a in f o r F a t h e r S u n . W h e n h e did n o t a p p e a r , t h e y w e n t q u i e t l y b a c k t o th e ir b ed s. T h e y t h o u g h t t h a t t h e y ha d n o t sle p t l o n g e n o u g h a n d t h a t it w a s still n i g h t. W h e n F a t h e r S u n d id n o t a p p e a r t h e n e x t d a y , t h e a n i m a l s b e g a n t o s u s p e c t t ha t he had g o t lo st o n t h e w a y h o m e . O n e littl e s q u ir r e l d i s c o v e r e d F a t h e r S u n s t u c k in th e t o p m o s t b r a n c h e s o f a tall tree. By t h is t i m e F a t h e r S u n w a s ve ry p ale a n d w e a k .
‘L it t le s q u i r r e l, ’ he c r i e d , ‘set m e free.'
‘C e r t a i n l y , F a t h e r S u n , ’ r e p lie d t h e littl e s q u ir r e l, a n d he ran u p t h e t r u n k .
But F a t h e r S u n ’s h ea t d r o v e h i m b a c k t o t h e g r o u n d .
A g a i n F a t h e r S u n c a l l e d o u t , ‘L it t le sq u ir r e l, se t m e f r e e . ’ ‘O h , F a t h e r s u n , y o u a r e t o o h o t , ’ sa i d t h e littl e s q u ir r e l sa d ly . ‘Y o u h a v e a l r e a d y b u r n t m y f i n e l o n g t a i l . ’
‘Tr y a g a i n , ’ p l e a d e d F a t h e r S u n . ‘1 a m s o tire d th a t m y lig ht will s o o n g o o u t . ’ T h e littl e s q u ir r e l ran u p t h e tr u n k a s e c o n d t i m e . H e a l m o s t r e a c h e d F a t h e r S u n b e f o r e th e f i e r c e h e a t d r o v e h i m b a c k a g a i n . F a t h e r S u n g r o a n e d , ‘L it t le s q u i r r e l, p l e a s e try o n e m o r e t i m e . ’ ‘F a t h e r S u n , ’ c r ie d t h e s q u ir r e l, ‘y o u r h e a t h a s b u r n t o f f m y fine l o n g tail. M y fur is b l a c k , w h a t is m o r e , y o u r l i g h t h a s m a d e m e b l i n d . ’ ‘P le a se , littl e s q u i r r e l , ’ w h i s p e r e d F a t h e r su n . O n c e m o r e t h e little s q u ir r e l ra n u p t h e t r u n k . W h e n he r e a c h e d t h e t o p b r a n c h e s , he e a v e F a t h e r S u n a t r e m e n d o u s n u s h F a t h e r S u n R o tu n d a T h e sq u i r r e l h e ld o n t o t h e b r a n c h e s w i t h all h is m i g h t . T h e i n t e n s e h e a t h a d m a d e his a r m s g r o w l o n g e r a n d h is s k in s t r e t c h o u t . N o w it s e e m e d t h a t h e w a s c a u g h t a t t h e t o p o f th e tree fo r e v e r . T h e r e w a s n o o n e t h a t c o u l d r e s c u e h i m . F a t h e r S u n p a u s e d a n d l o o k e d b a c k . H e w a s d i s t r e s s e d t o see h o w m u c h h e h a d h a r m e d t h e k i n d sq u ir r e l.
‘P o o r littl e s q u i r r e l , ’ h e sa i d , ‘in h e l p i n g m e y o u h a v e b e e n hurt. N o w I s h a l l r e p a y y o u r k i n d n e s s . W h a t is y o u r d e a r e s t w i s h ? ’ ‘I h a v e a l w a y s w a n t e d t o f l y , ’ t h e s q u ir r e l a n s w e r e d , ‘b u t n o w it is t o o la t e . ’ F a t h e r S u n n o d d e d a n d s u d d e n l y t h e p a i n left t h e sq u irr e l. ‘F r o m n o w o n , ’ s a i d F a t h e r S u n , ‘y o u w ill be a b l e t o fl y j u s t a s y o u h a v e a l w a y s w a n t e d t o d o . S i n c e m y lig h t h u r t s y o u r e y e s , y o u w ill fl y at n ig h t. A l t h o u g h y o u r e y e s a re b l i n d , y o u r e a r s a re still v e r y s h a r p . W h e n y o u c a l l o u t , t h e tr e e s a n d r o c k s w i l l s e n d b a c k e c h o e s t o y o u . T h e n y o u w ill k n o w t h a t th e r e is s o m e t h i n g in y o u r w a y . 1 s h a l l s e e y o u in t h e m o r n i n g a n d in th e e v e n i n g o n m y j o u r n e y b a c k a n d f o r t h . ’ T h e sq u i r r e l d r o p p e d his a r m s f r o m t h e b r a n c h e s a n d f le w a w a y . B y s a v i n g F a t h e r S u n s o t h a t t h e w o r l d c o u l d h a v e lig h t a n d w a r m t h he h a d b e c o m e a littl e b r o w n bat. B io m e
N ot all cultures are as prejudiced against the bat as
ours is. In C hina the word for bat is f u , which is also
the name of the written character for happiness.
Thus the bat is a symbol of good things and is
incorporated into m an y Chinese designs. Five bats
are often used together, as in the draw ing above, to
signify the five blessings o f health, wealth, virtue,
longevity an d a peaceful end.
REFERENCES
A N O N . 1982. Bats in the limelight. B io m e 2: 1.
J O H N S T O N , B.H. 1981/2. H o w b at s c a m e to be. R o tu n d a 14: 4-6 . K I N G D O M , J. 1974. E ast A fric a n m a m m a ls. Vol. II, P a r t A. L o n d o n :
A c a d e m ic Press.
VA N D E R M E R W E , M. 1982. Bats as vect ors o f rabies. 5. A fr. J. Sci.
7 8:4 21 -4 22. m
