All About Bats!

We were fortunate to have a visit from Jon from Oak Hammock March this week.  His topic on this visit was Creatures of the Night - Bats!

He told us about the many types of bats.  We had heard of vampire bats before and had some of the myths dispelled that we had heard about them.  We had never heard of the tiny Bumblebee Bat or the Flying Fox Bat.

Jon told us about the five types of bats that can be found in Manitoba.

He even showed us a skeleton of one.  The tiny bones amazed us!

This brown bat had been taxidermied and it gave us the opportunity to see one close up.  So many kids thought it looked like a mouse, with wings!

Jon also showed us a bat house and explained how the opening at the bottom helps them feel comfortable enough to roost there during the day so they are ready to go hunting at night.

He saved the best for last when he showed us how to play a game called Bat - Moth.  It is a lot like Marco Polo.  The bat was blindfolded and had to say "Bat".  The moth would reply "Moth" and would try to avoid being tagged.  It is like the adaptation that bats have called echolocation that helps them find their prey in the dark.

All in all, we learned to appreciate bats and especially when he showed us how many mosquitoes each bat east every day!  Thanks to the West Souris River Conservation District for once again sponsoring this educational experience for Reston School.