Latest news with #bats
CTV News
a day ago
- Science
- CTV News
Museum detects bats over downtown
Edmonton Watch Staff at the Royal Alberta Museum found that bats are flying over downtown Edmonton after they used a special detector for two months this spring.
CTV News
a day ago
- Science
- CTV News
Bats, man: Flying mammals detected over downtown Edmonton
Just because downtown Edmonton is more a concrete jungle than it is a lush forest doesn't mean wildlife avoids it. Including bats. Staff at the Royal Alberta Museum installed an ultrasonic microphone on the roof of the building on 104 Avenue and 97 Street over two months earlier this year to detect bat calls and 'make them visible to us, if not necessarily audible,' Nick Cairns, the museum's curator of non-vertebrates, told CTV News Edmonton on Wednesday. Cairns said the project came about after staff at the museum wondered if bats were moving through the city. 'We know that there are bats in the city, but here, right in downtown, doesn't necessarily seem conducive to lots of wildlife beyond jackrabbits and the coyote,' he said. The result was 54 recordings of activity in April and May by two species: silver-haired bats and hoary bats. Cairns said they first detected bats over the museum on April 10, had 'a good pulse of detections in late April, early May, and then another pulse in late May.' 'Those are both sort of larger migratory species that are probably moving through this area to get further north as they make their way to their birthing grounds and submarine areas,' he said. Cairns said downtown still doesn't meet the criteria bats typically need to best inhabit an area, 'but it's nice to know that we haven't completely destroyed the ecosystem entirely. There are still animals moving through here.' With files from CTV News Edmonton's Cameron Wiebe
CBS News
23-07-2025
- Health
- CBS News
Denver Animal Protection warns public, pet owners after bats test positive for rabies
A second bat has tested positive for rabies in Denver, this time in the Highlands Neighborhood. The first bat of the year to test positive in Denver was found in the Sloan Lake Neighborhood on July 8. On July 17, a family in the Highlands Neighborhood reported a second positive bat. Rabies can be transmitted through saliva, usually through a bite from an animal with the disease. Authorities said the disease affects the nervous system and is usually fatal if symptoms develop. They stressed the importance of keeping pets up to date on their rabies vaccinations. A low-cost vaccine clinic is available at the Denver Animal Shelter on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The Fort Collins Natural Areas Program said, "Like all mammals, bats can get rabies. However, only ½ of 1% of bats contract rabies. When they do, they are very sick and usually die. If you see a bat on the ground or during the daytime, it might be sick. Don't touch it, keep children and pets away." You can learn more about the types of bats in Colorado here. The Denver Department of Public Health and Environment urged the public to be cautious and avoid contact with bats and other wild animals. They said that most people in Denver come into contact with bats when they find their way into a home, and advised residents not to sleep with open and unscreened windows and doors. If a bat manages to enter the house, close it off and call Denver Animal Protection to remove it. If an animal bites you, DAP said to flush the wound and wash thoroughly with soap and water, then contact your doctor. Someone bitten by an animal positive for rabies may be started on post-exposure prophylaxis treatment to prevent the development of the disease. All animal bites and scratches should be reported to DAP
The Sun
22-07-2025
- General
- The Sun
The little-known reason Scots should love BATS and why they're a lifesaver in the garden this summer
KING Charles is to provide a new home for bats at his Scottish mansion so work can go ahead. Surveys found evidence of potential roosting sites after he applied for permission to build a luxury wedding venue in Dumfries House near Cumnock, Ayrshire, where bat boxes have now been installed in the grounds of the A-listed building. 4 4 4 But The King isn't the only one to be left in a flap over bats with a £100million 'bat tunnel' also constructed for the controversial HS2 rail line in Buckinghamshire. Chief Features Writer MATT BENDORIS speaks to a top conservationist about why we need to help these nocturnal flying mammals. DOCTOR Joe Nunez-Mino has many reasons why a thriving bat population is good for the environment but one should endear them to Scots more than others - their voracious appetite for midges. As the biting insects continue to cause havoc at family barbecues and day-trips this summer, the one thing helping to keep them at bay are Scotland's airborne mammals. And Dr Joe from the Bat Conservation Trust insists that our nine species of resident bats help in many other ways too. He said: 'We can only estimate but we do know bats eat a lot of insects, each individual bat eating hundreds or even thousands (of midges) every night. 'Different bat species specialise in eating different insects, from biting insects like midges through to moths, including some insects that damage crops and gardens. 'To give one example, a study published last year estimated that bats in apple orchards reduce the total weight of apples damaged by codling moths by 50 per cent.' In the UK all bat species and their roosts are legally protected by both European legislation and domestic laws including Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations (2017). But since the Wildlife and Countryside Act of 1981 it has been a criminal offence to disturb a structure or place bats use for shelter or protection. 'He is spooked' - Moment The Open commentator hides under his jacket as BAT invades broadcasting booth at Portrush It means DIY and commercial builders have to carry out expensive bat surveys costing several thousands - or more if the mammals are found and need to be removed. Dr Joe said: 'There is a cost associated with protecting the environment just like there is with health and safety or protecting historical heritage. 'While we as an organisation don't have any control or influence on the costs of bat surveys, we have worked with some Statutory Nature Conservation Organisations (SNCO) to streamline the process where possible. 'To avoid delays, it's important to take bats into account from the earliest stages of planning work.' He adds: 'Having a bat roost does not prevent developing a property, bats just need to be taken into account as part of the process. Householders should seek advice from their SNCO.' However Dr Joe believes that bats get a bad press including the 1km long bat tunnel in Buckinghamshire that added an extra £100million to the runaway cost of the HS2 rail line. He said: 'We were not involved in the process. However, we do know that multiple cross-party inquiries have found that HS2's delays and cost overruns stem from mismanagement, not nature protections. 'HS2 did not carry out a timely strategic environmental assessment which could have identified viable alternatives that could have avoided significant expenditure and delay.' While in 2002 Scottish wildlife artist David McRae, 56, from Tayside, died from rabies after being bitten by a bat - it was the first case of indigenous rabies in the UK in 100 years. Dr Joe said: 'Two rabies-related viruses have been detected in two bat species in the UK and in only a very small number of individuals. 'If someone is bitten, licked, nipped or scratched by a bat they should wash and disinfect the area and urgently seek medical treatment. 'The NHS has said prompt post-exposure vaccinations have been 100 per cent effective in preventing the disease.' But Dr Joe believes that work done by organisations like his and the stringent laws are helping bats, which have been in decline, to slowly make a recovery. LAST March my wife and I bought an uninhabitable bungalow on Scotland's West Coast and wanted to pull it down before it fell down and replace it with a shiny new build. But 16 months on there hasn't even been a spade in the ground because late on in the planning process it was suddenly announced we needed a bat survey. The problem was by the time we were informed last year, the flying mammals would be hibernating for the winter and a dusk survey - with infrared cameras and sound equipment - couldn't be carried out until the spring. In the end we didn't have any roosting bats, but it has added a £1,800 bill to the project we hadn't budgeted for. Someone else in the area wasn't so lucky and it cost them £5,000 to have their bats removed by an ecologist. But surely with all the technology now available there has to be a quicker - and far cheaper - way of checking where they are roosting, so people can get on with their projects? And when I do finally get my new house built any neighbourhood bats are more than welcome to come and live rent free. He explains: 'All bat species have suffered historical declines in population numbers but we have seen signs of initial recovery in some species. 'We are currently able to monitor five of the nine resident bat species in Scotland through the National Bat Monitoring Program. 'Of these five, four species - Daubenton's bat, Natterer's bat, common pipistrelle and brown long-eared bat - show no significant change since the base line year of 1999 and one species has increased - soprano pipistrelle. 'Bat conservation is important because they are a vital part of our natural heritage which make up around a quarter of our mammal species and they also play a critical role in the ecosystem. 'There is very good evidence that bat populations help to reduce the need for pesticides which ultimately harms the health of other wildlife and people too.' He adds: 'Scotland would have a lot more midges and other insects without them.' *For more information on the Bat Conservation Trust visit 4
Times
20-07-2025
- General
- Times
Invasion of 1,200 bats forces taxi driver to sleep in her cab
One night earlier this summer Anne-Marie Murchie sleepily went to the bathroom. The taxi driver reached out for some paper and got a surprise so terrifying she started sleeping in her car. 'Half asleep, I grabbed the toilet roll holder and a bat came out and held on to my hand.' Murchie's home in Dyce near Aberdeen has been invaded by a colony of up to 1,200 soprano pipistrelles. Soprano pipistrelles one of the most common bat species in Britain. The weight up to 8 grammes and have a wingspan of about 200mm ALAMY Because the animals are protected, there is nothing the 41-year-old can do until they move on at the end of the summer maternity season, which could be next month or even September. The bats are everywhere. 'They're above the spotlights in the kitchen and they've popped them out a few times as well,' she said. 'I'm scared to come in the house. Sometimes I actually sleep outside in the car. I'm just petrified.'
