Bat species are as different

Bat species are as different from each other as are bird species and each type of bat has a separate role in the ecosystem. There are nine species of bats in the Cayman Islands. Three Cayman Islands bats are endemic to the Caribbean and are considered to be exceptionally rare. Three species and all Cayman Islands bat subspecies are endemic to the Caribbean and one subspecies is endemic to Grand Cayman. Cayman Islands bats are not known to migrate.

There are over 1,200 species of bats in the world and they are the only mammals that can truly fly. There are two main families of bats – the Mega-bats of Asia, Africa, Australia and the South Pacific and the Micro-bats, which inhabit every continent except Antarctica. Some scientists believe that these two families should be classified as different orders and that flight has evolved twice in mammals. Mega-bats may have evolved from lemur-like ancestors while micro-bats may have come from smaller animals similar to shrews. All Cayman Islands' bats are micro-bats.

Bats play crucial roles in insect control, seed disbursal and pollination. They are considered to be a "keystone species" because plants that are dependant upon bats are vital to the survival of birds and other animals. These, in turn make their own contributions to balanced ecosystems. Most people credit bats with controlling mosquitoes, but insect-eating bats also eat many thousands of harmful beetles, grasshoppers, katydids, cockroaches, and moths and their larva every night. Bats and bat caves are benefiting some economies as eco-tourism attractions. Science is studying bats to learn more about longevity, since bats can live up to 30 years. This is an incredibly long lifespan for such a small mammal. Similarly sized mammals, such as mice or hamsters, live only two or three years. Bats are also proving useful to science in the study of fertility, heart disease, the development of low-temperature surgical procedures, a sonar system for the blind, alternative energy sources and toxic waste cleanup chemicals.

Bats have long suffered from an image problem. Because they are nocturnal and difficult to study, little was known about them until recently and many people still have misconceptions, fears and phobias about bats. Bats are not rodents and are more closely related to monkeys than to mice or rats. Bats living in roof spaces will not chew wood or wires or damage the building. They never invade human food stores. Bats are not aggressive and will not harm humans in any way. They do not attack people or pets. They do not want to tangle in peoples' hair and they are not vampires! They are not blind. Cayman Islands bats do not carry any diseases that are a danger to people, and rabies is unknown here. Bats are clean and spend hours grooming. They may not all be beautiful to our eyes, but beauty is not the only criteria for determining the value of a species!

Until 1994, Cayman Islands bats faced a crisis as the target of exterminators. Because Velvety Free-tailed Bats roost in large colonies, they were easily killed by misguided efforts to remove them from roof spaces. Bats have only one pup per year and when populations are devastated they take centuries to recover their former numbers. Bats were also the victims of general misunderstanding and most people were afraid of them, and considered them to be pests, vermin and a health hazard. The National Trust's Bat Conservation Project has been extremely active since 1994, and bat conservation education has been carried out both in the schools and with the general public. This has resulted in an increased awareness and sensitivity when dealing with bat problems. The Cayman Islands have the largest and most effective bat conservation programme in the Caribbean.

International bat conservation groups held a meeting in Florida some years ago to discuss the status of Central and South American bat species. It was clear that very little is known about bats of the Caribbean islands. Of special concern are the three species endemic to the Caribbean: the Buffy Flower Bat Erophylla sezekorni, the White-shouldered Bat Phyllops falcatus, and the Antillean Nectar Bat Brachyphylla nana. The Cayman Islands are very interested in sharing our successful bat conservation programme with other interested Caribbean countries.

Advice and assistance is now offered at no cost to homeowners who need to evict bats from their roof spaces. (Due to high humidity and year-round activity with no hibernation, odour is a serious problem when bats roost in human structures in tropical climates.) Bats can be removed from roofs easily, without harming the roof or the bats. (Click here for "There's a Bat in My Roof! - What Should I Do?")

Bats do not build nests or create their own holes or crevices but must depend upon what they can find. To provide alternative habitat for bats displaced from roof spaces, over forty bat houses have been erected and most are now occupied by Velvety Free-tailed Bats. This is a continuing programme and more bat houses are being erected every year. Caribbean Utilities Co Ltd (CUC) has been invaluable to the success of this project with the donation of installed utility poles to support bat houses. These utility poles are ideal for bat houses as they are strong enough to sustain high winds and stood through Hurricane Ivan with bats alive and well! Without the help of CUC the Bat House Project would have been hopelessly expensive and difficult.

As more is learned about styles, placement, height and colour (temperature) preferences, these bat houses will become even more effective in preventing the occupation of attics and roof spaces by bats. Free-tailed bats emerge from roofs and bat houses just after sundown and eat beetles, moths, and other garden pests as well as mosquitoes. Each individual bat can consume up to 2,000 insects in a single night. (Click here for "What is a Bat House - and Why You Should Have One" and "How and Where to Mount a Bat House") Guano can be collected from under bat houses. It makes an excellent fertilizer and is highly prized by savvy gardeners.

Bats that live in buildings or bat houses are always insect-eaters and never eat fruit. Fruit bats are larger and slower than insectivores. They emerge later in the evening and roost in smaller groups in dense foliage and rock crevices. Two species of fruit bats in the Cayman Islands are considered to be crop pests and information is available from the National Trust to help farmers to protect their mangos, papayas, naseberries, sweetsops and other soft-skinned fruits. (Click here for "Fruit Bats - The Real Story!") Although fruit bats can be a nuisance, they are also crucial to the control of insect pests on the fruit. In countries where fruit bats have been killed, problems have worsened with population explosions of insect crop pests as we are now seeing post-Ivan. Fruit bats pollinate many native plants and disburse seeds throughout the islands. Though they sometimes take farmers' fruits, they also "clean up" wild fruit that would otherwise rot and breed fungus and fruit flies. Local bat-dependant plants include agaves, cactus, vine pear, calabash, silk floss, naseberry (sapodilla) and many others.

Vampire bats are not present in the Cayman Islands. On other Caribbean Islands and in parts of Central and South America, however, these tiny bats are considered to be a pest to domesticated animals. Vampire bats bite cattle, horses and other animals that sleep outside. These wounds can become infected and if disease is present in the area, vampire bats can spread it between the animals. For this reason, control measures are being implemented to reduce populations of vampire bats in those countries. Of the nearly 1,000 species of bats, only three are known to feed on blood. Knowing the difference between vampire bats and other more beneficial species is very important when dealing with this problem. In some places, tragic eradications of beneficial insect, fruit and nectar-eating bats have disrupted entire ecosystems. Because bats reproduce so slowly, these mistakes cannot be reversed.

Bats are the only native mammals in the Cayman Islands since the Hutia and the West Indian Shrew became extinct some 500 years ago. Caribbean Monk Seals were found on our shores until the 1950s, when they too became extinct. The Cayman Islands have a National Bird, a National Tree, and a National Flower. There is no National Mammal yet!

Acknowledgements:

This information is based upon original research done by G. S. Morgan in 1982 and 1986, further research carried out by A. L. Band in 1998 and ongoing current research by L. M. Blumenthal. Advice, information and assistance have been provided by Bat Conservation International in Austin Texas, USA and by The British Bat Trust in London, England.

The National Trust extends a very special "Thank You" to Caribbean Utilities Co Ltd (CUC) for their generous support of the Bat Conservation Programme. Without their cooperation the Bat House Project would have been hopelessly expensive and difficult. Their continuing support with the donation of installed utility poles has been crucial to the success of the programme.