I'll see you at the bat meetings!

Really?  A meeting all about bats?!  Yes.  Why?  Because bat biologists need a place to get together and update each other regarding their research and network!

What better?

For the last 42 years the North American Society for Bat Research (NASBR) has met annually (now in October of course- what better month?!) 

Taken from their website:
"The North American Society for Bat Research (NASBR) is a society dedicated to the promotion and development of the scientific study of bats (Chiroptera) in all its branches, including conservation and public education. The society holds an annual meeting called the North American Symposium on Bat Research, usually in October, of professional bat researchers from throughout North America, with occasional attendees from Europe, Asia, Africa, and Central and South America."

This year the meetings will be held in San Juan, Puerto Rico.  255+ participants from across the globe will get together to geek out over their favorite taxonomic group: bats!

Entire days will be spent on topics like White Nose Syndrome and bat conservation in general.  I will do my best to update as the conference progresses with interesting and important talks or topics that come up!

Fall bat events (updated year of the bat listing)

Below is an updated listing for October of events from around the world that relate to bats some in celebration of the Year of the Bat (2011)).
(In-progress, expect updates)

Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, South Pacific Islands
31 October Australasian Bat night

Europe
France
26, 29 Oct. Bourges Chauve-souris expo at the Natural History Museum in Bourges.

Germany
3 Oct. Fledermaus Kreativ Wettbewerb (bat creativity contest to come up with art for the bat museum or Internet site.)

Sweden
23 Oct. Opening of Sweden's bat museum!

Switzerland
1 Oct. (Zurich) Long Sat. bat exhibit.

United Kingdom
21 Oct. Bats for building workers (workshop) Jersey Bat Group.

North America
Canada
26-29 Oct. North American Symposium on Bat Research (NASBR). Toronto, Canada. Chiropterologists will be meeting to discuss their research!

United States
Austin, Texas.
Anytime. Who knew? You can take river cruises to see the famous Congress Avenue Bridge bat colony emerge! So the next time you are in Austin check it out.

Updated bat activies for May 2011 (year of the bat!)

An updated list of bat related activities around the world in May to celebrate the 'Year of the Bat'!



Unfortunately activities seem restricted to Europe for the time being...



EUROPE

Germany (Frankfurt)



11 May Nachtscwaermer-guided tour (Frakfurt Zoo)



18 May- Nachtscwaermer- guided tour (Frankfurt Zoo)



21 & 22 May- Experiencing bats (Frankfurt Zoo)



25 May- Lecture "night Flight- Fascinating bats" (Frankfurt Zoo)



UK

17 May Bat walk, Bryngarw County Park, Bridgend, South Wales



20May- 16 September Cambridge, 'Bat Safari' river tours

Disney doesn't really do bats or do they?

So after a fun-filled day with my brother and nephew at Disneyland I started wondering about the role of bats at Disneyland. There are plenty of rides with hippos, lions, birds (a la' Tiki Tiki Tiki room), rides with raccoons, I saw about 4-5 skunks amid other creatures but what about bats? For those of you that know about hidden Mickeys (there is one hidden Mickey on every ride and various ones throughout the park) I decided to investigate the hidden bats of Disneyland and here is what I have found....

While walking into the Indiana Jones ride, there are bats in the 'archaeological site.' In fact they even come with a sign ! In fact the sign was a nice one asking passersby to not disturb the bats! Thanks Mickey! Meanwhile the fussing and buzzing of 'bats' can be heard as you casually enter the ride to explore the Temple of the Forbidden Eye with Indy. Pirates of the Caribbean also has its share of bats at the end of the ride keeping Captain Jack Sparrow company. Never mind that they have glowing eyes (bat eyes do not glow interesting concept however!) On Big Thunder Mountain (a roller coaster ride with a wild west theme) some bats can be seen in a mine!

So why do we care? I would suggest that if one was to spend some time looking though movies Disney or otherwise that bats are used to convey a feeling. Be it that you are entering a cave or mine, that it is night-time, or in other cases that things are 'creepy'. (An interesting association that maybe has less to do with bats and more that we are generally a little more frightened at night and in dark places than in actuality afraid of bats). What if bats went extinct, such as many species of bats in the Eastern US are now close to doing? These Eastern bats are in very serious trouble due to White Nose Syndrome. So while many people may not consciously notice the bats in these rides, or while watching movies it would be a tragedy if future generations no-longer knew them as actual animals and they entered the realm of 'fantasy' together with the spunky mice and talking duck we all grew up with.

Disney and other similar companies hold an amazing potential power for educating kids and the public in general. Happily, I was able to find a blurb about bats from Disney at this site (here).

Disney does fund research and I am curious to know if any of it has been directed at these little cave and night creatures particularly our friends in the Eastern US and those such as charismatic Flying Foxes. As we progress through 2011, the year of the bat here's hoping!

Year of the bat

You may have heard of the year of the rat but have you heard of the year of the bat?

Aimed at increasing public awareness of the importance of bats United Nations Environmental Programe, Bat Conservation International, Conservation of Populations of Migratory Species of Wild Animals and Eurobats.org have named 2011 'the Year of the Bat!' Please go to http://www.yearofthebat.org/ if you would like to find out more!

Specifically find out what bat researchers near you are trying to do to help conserve bats by clicking here.

Next week in Mexico (March 26 and 27)

Bosques a Media Luna (click here)

In Australia (9th of April)

Bat box building workshop (click here)

Germany (1-3 April)

Bats between Nature and culture (click here)