Possible silver-haired bat roosts outside the French Ad building on Aug. 30.
(Photos by Rita Haas)
PULLMAN – Working on weekends is usually a little dull, but Rita Haas had a surprise Sunday afternoon when she looked out her third-floor window in the French Administration building.
Unexpectedly, a small brown bat flew toward her and landed on the building – hanging upside down on the edge of a red brick just outside her office window.
She took a photo through the glass with her cell phone.
“It’s gone today,” said Haas, assistant to the division chief in the Attorney General’s Office. “But it was sorta neat to be that close to him – thankfully, through the glass.”
Kelly Cassidy, curator of the WSU Conner Museum, said that although there is no such thing as a positive bat ID from a photo, she and former museum director and professor emeritus, Richard E. Johnson, are reasonably certain that the bat is a silver-haired bat (Lasionycteris noctivagans).
“Silver-haired bats are the right size and one of the darker bats. They have a silvery sheen, but it would be difficult to see in a photo without very good lighting. They are a forest bat, but are generally thought to be migratory,” she said.
Silver-haired bats are insectivorous and play a vital role in the environment., eating flies, beetles, moths, etc.
Cassidy said that most of the records on bats are from spring and late summer/early autumn when they migrate. She quotes Nagorsen and Brigham, 1993, The Bats of British Columbia:
“Each autumn the Royal British Columbia Museum receives several reports of this species roosting on buildings in downtown Victoria. During the day individuals can lower their body temperature and go into torpor in order to conserve energy. Individuals found in this dormant condition are often assumed to be ill.”
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| Possible silver-haired bat on French Ad building. |
The French Ad visitor was unlikely to be ill and was probably just resting. Yet it is important to remember that –
according to the Washington State Department of Health – bats are the primary reservoir of rabies in the Northwest. Fortunately, fewer than 1 percent of healthy bats are infected with rabies. The percentage rises to 5-10 percent of sick bats.
If you do come in contact with a bat, thoroughly wash your skin, even if wounds are not noticeable. Safely capture the bat – if possible – and call the local health department.
Vaccinating pets can help prevent rabies. Also, it is wise to avoid feeding and having contact with wildlife.
For more information about the amazing world of bats, visit Bat Conservation International at http://www.batcon.org/
