Myths about bats

Many people still believe untrue stories about bats. Here are the commonest myths that need to be definitely stamped out.

Bats' urine does not make you bald.

Bats would never deliberately get entangled in your hair. And should someone put a bat on your head on purpose, you wouldn't have to shave it, but to simply remove the little creature as you would do with a butterfly or with a leaf.

Bats do not habitually feed on human blood. There are only three sanguivorous species out of about 1100. They live in Central and South America and feed on the blood of cattle and birds.

Bats are not blind, their eyes can see well. Nevertheless Microchiropteran bats use echolocation also in the light or half-shade because this sophisticated perception system gives them more details about the environment.

Bats are not rodents. They are insectivorous mammals and do not dig holes or build nests, nor do they alter\their roost by removing or adding any materials, except their guano.

Bats are made of water, proteins and minerals like the other animals and do not have any aphrodisiac power.

In European cultures bats are usually correlated with demons and horror, for example the devil's and demons' wings are bat’s wings, or vampyres are bat-like creatures feeding on human blood, and so on. Other cultures on the contrary ascribe positive meanings to bats.

In China bats are the symbol of good luck.

In Australia the bat is the creator of water and of the creatures who live in the water.

Ancient Latin American cultures venerated bats and thought they were intermediary to the gods.