Bats will not get in your hair, do not carry lice and do not suck your blood.
Bat enthusiast Linette Mansberger, of New Oxford, holds up a stuffed toy bat to emphasize the size of a Giant Flying Fox bat at Richard Nixon County Park Sunday. YORK DAILY RECORD/SUNDAY NEWS - PAUL KUEHNEL (Paul Kuehnel)
York, PA -
Bats are our friends of the night.
That was the message Linette Mansberger, a county parks volunteer, brought to an audience of about 30 Sunday at Nixon County Park in Springfield Township.
"They don't understand them and believe a lot of the myths they know about them, but bats are fascinating," Mansberger said.
One morning, Mansberger, a retired kindergarten teacher, discovered a bat in her classroom and her fascination with bats was born.
"It was the cutest thing and I fell in love," she said. "I am a bat enthusiast. I love bats and I love telling people about bats. I want to get you to appreciate bats and understand how important they are," Mansberger said.
It is probably no surprise that she loves bats, Mansberger said, since when she was growing up, Batman was her favorite cartoon character and "Dark Shadows" her favorite TV show.
Bats are important as pollinators and insect eaters, she said. A single little brown bat can eat one thousand mosquitoes in one night and bats have been known to fly up to 25 miles in search of food.
The make their homes in old barns, and yes, in belfries and attics, under bridges and in caves. You can try building a bat house but they seem to be pretty choosy, Mansberger said.
A bat has a lifespan of 30 years, but a deadly disease known as white-nose syndrome, is wiping out bat colonies at an alarming rate, she said.
"It is important we do our best to save as many bats as possible because of the things that are happening to bats these days," Mansberger said.
Bats will not get in your hair, do not carry lice, do not suck your blood and do not multiply rapidly. Their young, known as pups, are often raised in maternity colonies and each mother uses smell and sound to find her offspring at feeding time.
Tyra Hawkins, 5, of Jefferson, sometimes sees bats along the York County Rail Trail and is not afraid of them. She brought her best friend, her aunt, Kristy Josephs, to learn about bats.
"I am terrified of them and would never have bought our house near Raab Park if I had known about the bats there, but I am going to get over my fear. That is why I am here today. I can do this," Josephs said.
Cameron Glatfelter, 9, of Jackson Township, attended the program with his grandparents, Lee and Bertha Slagle.
"I understand more about bats," he said.
Lucy Wallick, 6, of Etters checked out the books about bats that were part of Mansberger's display and said she plans to visit the library to find those books and more on the subject of bats.
If you want to see bats, simply wait until night time and check out the nearest street lamp or dusk-to-dawn light, Mansberger said.
Source: http://www.ydr.com/local/ci_23659983/very-bat-tale?source=rss
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