How afraid should we be of being bitten by a bat when we are sitting in our garden or on the balcony? Some will be asking this question after a bat landed on the thigh of singer Taylor Momsen, also known from Gossip Girl. It happened while she was performing in Spain.
After the bat landed on her, she was treated in hospital and given an anti-rabies injection. The singer says she was bitten, but she didn’t seem too impressed. She described the incident as “rock and roll.”
puzzle
For Eric Breuer, a bat expert at the Mammal Society, how the animal landed on the singer is a mystery. “The chance of it crashing into you is very small,” he tells Editie NL.
Not all cookies are accepted. To view this content you must haveTo adjust.
“Maybe the bat ended up in the arena and couldn’t get back up because it was bothered by the light and the crowds. Then maybe the animal eventually became tired. There are all kinds of scenarios, but we don’t know what it’s like.” maybe.”
‘Very slim chance’
What Brewer does know is that there’s no need to worry about something like this happening in the garden or on the balcony. “The chance is so slim, I’d rather buy a lottery ticket.” Bats use echo and sonar technology. “They are able to pluck thousands of small insects out of the air at night.”
Sometimes it may seem like they are flying to you, but that is not the case. “He’s busy mapping the environment,” says the bat expert. “It’s like walking around with a flashlight in a dark room and seeing something you want to take a closer look at. A bat’s sonar technology can be compared to our flashlight in the dark.”
Biting behavior
Therefore, they will almost never land on you, and biting is also very rare, according to Brewer. “The bat only bites out of defence.” Therefore, it is advised not to just lift it or touch it with your hands if you find one on the ground. For example, you can know exactly what to do if you find a bat here is reading.
The brother believes that the possibility of singer Momsen being bitten by the bat is slim. “This could have been her experience, but it could also have been the animal’s nails, for example. It is unlikely that it would have sunk its teeth into her leg.”
‘No need to be afraid’
However, there’s certainly no need to be afraid, says Brewer. “In fact, they are exceptionally useful animals,” he says. “They hunt annoying insects, such as mosquitoes.” Not an unnecessary luxury, now that mosquito conditions are perfect this spring. “Bats play an important role in our environment.”
