Common Misconceptions
Hover your mouse over the misconception to find the truth!
All bats drink blood
False!
Out of over 1,390 species of bats only 3 species feed on blood. These vampire bats do not suck blood like the legendary Dracula but lap up blood like a dog drinking water. They drink small amounts of blood from larger animals such as birds, cattle, and horses. Vampire bats live in central and South America and DO NOT drink blood from humans (Nunez, n.d.; Prokop, 2009)
Bats are rodents
False!
Although many people think bats are just mice with wings, they are not. They belong to their own order Chiroptera and are more closely related to humans than they are to mice or rats (Batcon, n.d.; BCSPCA, 2019).
Bats are blind
False!
Bats can see just as well as you and me. Michrochiroptera use both sight and hearing (echolocation) to navigate. Megachiroptera have a strong sense of sight and smell (Batcon, n.d.; BCSPCA, 2019).
Bats get tangled in or want to nest in your hair
False!
Bats are very agile. If you have ever seen them hunt for insects they look as if they are flying erratically swooping here, turning there, diving, and zigzagging. This is because they are hunting flying insects. If they come a little too close to you it is because they are trying to catch that yummy bug that is attracted to you (BCSPCA, 2019).
Bats are gross, dirty, and evil
False!
Bats actually take the time to groom and clean, themselves and each other just like you. Further, they are not inherently bad or evil, they are quite the opposite due to how beneficial they are by eating large amounts of pesky insects and pollinating plants. (Batcon, n.d.; USDOI, 2017).
All bats carry rabies and other dangerous viruses like COVID-19
False!
Some bats can be infected with the rabies virus, like other animals. But this is a very very small percentage. If you stay away from bats, or any animal for that matter, who look sick, and do not handle them without protection, such as wearing thick gloves, the likelihood of getting rabies is almost none. (Batcon, n.d., BCSPCA, 2019).
COVID-19 has caused much panic and misinformation to spread about where the virus originated. Some bats and some other animals may host coronaviruses related to the virus causing the COVID-19 pandemic but the actual origin of COVID-19 is unknown. COVID-19 is a virus in people spread between people, you cannot get it from a bat. Hurting or displacing bats in anyway will not help reduce the spread of COVID-19 (Batcon, 2020).
It is true that bats may have the ability to carry some viruses without becoming sick (these are not necessarily viruses that can attack a human host). This cool evolutionary trait keep excessive inflammatory responses under control so they do not get other diseases or damage that humans and other animals tend to suffer from. This may be partially why bats live longer then would normally be expected (Duke-NUS Medical School, 2019).