If you believe you need to keep bats as pets, think again. Cathy Isom looks at why some people think they’re cute while others may think they’re creepy. Why you shouldn’t consider keeping a bat for a pet. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours.
Bats Shouldn’t Be Kept as Pets
Rob Mias with the Organization for Bat Conservation would like to introduce Camilla, the 22-year-old bat.
“It’s almost two feet from toes to the top of the head. Hangs upside down. Large eyes. We call it a flying fox because they have a dog-like or fox-like face.
He says Camilla doesn’t like strangers. He would know her the best because he has worked with Camilla for 17 years.
‘She knows me, so if I reach in she just crawls right onto my arm and kind of, you know, we kind of walk around.
Although the bat is familiar with him, it is not domesticated. So before you get any ideas about having one for yourself, you probably need to know this.
“It is illegal to have them as pets. The reason why the Organization for Bat Conservation has these animals is that they’re injured or orphaned or elderly.
He says Camilla is an educational animal and travels around the country with him for educational programming. Bats do play an important role in agriculture. They can keep crop-destroying pests under control in our gardens and on the farm. And, they’re also great pollinators, too. Unfortunately, bat populations are on the decline in the past few decades.
I’m Cathy Isom…
Chikaming Open Lands presented the Organization for Bat Conservation’s Live Bat Encounter in July 2011. This is Camilla, a Flying Fox Bat, and Rob Mies, director of the OBC.