Date: Tuesday, May 18th
Time: 7-8:30pm
Topic: Do You Think Bats are Scary? Learn the truth about bats.
Presenter: Melinda Alvarado with Blind Bat Educational Programs
The presentation includes a slide show and features several species of live, tame bats. All ages will benefit from and appreciate this chance to learn about the real world of bats.
Myths, superstitions, and misconceptions about these highly beneficial mammals are discussed and replaced with factual learning about the ecological importance of bats and their roles in many ecosystems as insect controllers, pollinators, and seed dispersers. Discover why bats don't get headaches from hanging upside down and why you don't have to worry about bats getting stuck in your hair.
Learn that:
- Bats are the only significant hunter of night flying insect pests.
- Bats are NOT blind, some can see 10 times better than humans.
- One bat can eat up to 1000 insects an hour, including mosquitoes.
- Bats are much more closely related to humans than to rodents.
- There are almost 1,100 species of bats worldwide. They are the second largest order of mammal.
- Only about 1 in 1,000 bats will contract rabies, about the same as other wildlife. Simply not handling downed bats will reduce your chances of contracting this disease from a bat to zero.
- Bats are major pollinators in the southern hemisphere. They are the primary seed disperser in tropical rainforests. Bats are responsible for up to 95% of tropical rainforest propagation.
Presenter Melinda Alvarado has been a wildlife rehabilitator, conservationist, and educator since 1989. She has worked with a wide range of birds and animals, including seabirds, eagles, and hummingbirds as well as foxes, coyotes, and raccoons. She has extensive training in wildlife rehabilitation, and has worked at several oil spills in California from 1990 through 2001. She served on the Pacific Wildlife Care Board of Directors for many years. Currently retired from that position, Melinda continues to lead their bat rehabilitation team as a volunteer. When Melinda attended her first bat training in 1995, she came to realize that bats are the most misunderstood and persecuted animals on the planet. Since 1999, she has given over 900 wildlife educational programs to schools, libraries, and adult groups, 800 of which have been specifically about bats. Melinda firmly believes that the only way we will succeed in saving bats from their current rapid population decline is through public education. She incorporates her vast knowledge and experience with bats, as well as new bat discoveries, into her programs.
If you have questions, leave message at 805-772-1991
[Photos provided by Melinda Alvarado]
ZOOM INFO:
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85013205771?pwd=cUJzNEIwSkgvY240VGlDd1N1NFhhdz09
Meeting ID: 850 1320 5771
Passcode: MorroCoast
