I want to walk, but I don’t dare until I get past the worst of this. I know I can lose some weight if I can walk twice a week.
Did you have a nice nap?
Not yet. That’s my next thing!
Today’s special animal friend is Kitti’s hog-nosed bat, Craseonycteris thonglongyai. Also known as the “bumblebee bat,” this two-gram flying mammal is native to Thailand and Myanmar. It has brown or reddish-brown fur and a short snout.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MjloOmz1TA
The bumblebee bat is the only species in the Craseonycteridae family. Maybe. Chiropterologists – scientists who study bats – are investigating the issue of whether the Thai and Burmese populations are separate subspecies or even different species. They look alike, but they have different echolocation calls.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GysHLFIvR1M
Bumblebee bats are insectivorous. Researchers can tell this from their teeth. They are active for short periods at dawn and dusk. Then they spend the rest of the day and night roosting deep in dry limestone caves. Unlike many cave-dwelling bats, they have a low population density, with an average of only 100 individuals sharing a cave.
Females give birth to a single, miniscule pup each year.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_PRZpVbfdg
Bumblebee bats are currently classified as Near Threatened by IUCN. This is an upgrade from their previous classification of Vulnerable. The change occurred because new populations have been discovered as scientists investigate more caves in Thailand and occasionally – when it’s not too dangerous - in Myanmar.
The main threats to bumblebee bats are deforestation and roost disturbance. When trees are cut, the insect population declines, reducing the bats’ food supply. The roost disturbance is partly a result of the coolness of the bumblebee bat. Since its discovery in the mid-1970s, scientists and some eco-tourists have sought out the caves to count, measure, collect, and otherwise mess with the bats. Humidity, smoke, and pathogens are brought in, as well as noise and physical disruption.
Other disruptions are caused by Buddhist monks seeking hermitages for meditation. Although they do not intentionally disturb the bats, they bring torches or lamps and otherwise impact the habitat. Finally, illegal drug consumers and traffickers also use the caves.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9W882q5dyYM