[Coop]

Since we're all deciding what should be in Breaking News, I'd like to add the Critter of the Week. Our friends the bats have gotten a bad rap.

[Lurker]

I like bats. Mrs. L and I have put up a bat house in our back yard. They're hell on skeeters.

L

[Diddle E. Squat]

BTW, I just saved money on my car insurance...

[EuroFrog]

My guess would be that it isnt the Lesser Long Nosed bat.

Please put me on your critter ping list.

[Lead Moderator]

Sorry. This CAN'T be breaking news, as it is neither a duplicate Drudge posting nor a whine about the removal of duplicate Drudge postings nor a thread about the whine threads nor a thread about a suggestion of what to do about either the whine threads, or the duplicate Drudge threads, or the heartbreak of psoriasis.

Sorry, LM

[tiamat]

Bats are some of the coolest critters there are.

I agree with Lurker. they ARE h3ll on mosquitos and we have a bat-house, too!


Sending this article to our 4-H kids!

thanks!

;-)

[Timesink]

I wish my local paper had a Critter of the Week column.

But I guess if it did, the local Democrat politicians would get tired of being picked over and over again.

[dighton]

Not breaking news. EVERY week is Southwestern Myotis Week!

;-)

[Gabz]

This is the best story that's been in breaking news all day!!!

[Darnright]

Awww, I like bats. The Little Brown Bat, which is abundant in this part of Virginia, is a cute little beastie.

I remember the havoc the poor l'il mammals would create when they got in our house (usually through the chimbly). I have never laughed so hard as I did watching my father running pell mell on the heels (do bats have heels?) of a bat, wielding his trusty flyswatter.

[BlessedBeGod]

Darn! I thought it was a ZOT! :-(

[68 grunt]

THE LESSER LONG-NOSED BAT

The lesser long-nosed bat is a leaf-nosed bat, yellowish-brown or gray with cinnamon brown below, and is one of four tropical bats found in the U.S. It ranges from as far south as Central America to Mexico to southern Arizona. It has a long muzzle and tongue, and is capable of hovering in midair-a feature that allows it to feed on nectar from the flowers of giant columnar cacti such as the saguaro (Cereus giganteus) and organ pipe cactus (Stenocereus thurberi), as well as from agaves, from which tequila is made.

Human exploitation of agaves-largely by the tequila industry-is now threatening bat populations, in turn causing further agave decline. The lesser long-nosed bat is also imperiled due to habitat disturbance and destruction as a result of development, agriculture, deforestation, and livestock grazing, as well as direct taking of individual bats during animal control programs, particularly in Mexico.