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Bat Appreciation Day

Animal · April 17

A day for appreciating bats, the only mammals capable of true flight, and the quiet work they do eating insects and pollinating plants at night.

Bat Appreciation Day falls on Saturday, April 17, 2027. That is 172 days away.

Bats are the only mammals that can truly fly. Their wings are made of thin skin stretched over long finger bones, which makes a bat's wing closer to a hand than a bird's wing.

Most bats come out at dusk. Many species eat insects and find them in the dark using echolocation, sending out high calls and listening for the echoes. Others eat fruit or drink nectar, and in doing so they help pollinate plants and spread seeds. In the United States, the bats people are most likely to see are small insect eaters fluttering over a pond or a streetlight on a summer evening.

They have an odd reputation for animals that mostly mind their own business. Bats spend the day hanging upside down in caves, attics, tree bark or under bridges, folded up like small umbrellas someone forgot to open.

Appreciating them usually means watching from a respectful distance. A calm evening near water is a good place to start, since insects gather there and bats follow. Some people put up bat houses, which give bats a safe place to roost. Bats should never be handled. A bat on the ground may be sick or injured, so the right move is to leave it alone and contact local wildlife officials.

Many nature centers and parks offer evening bat walks, some with handheld detectors that turn echolocation calls into clicks you can hear. It sounds a bit like a radio searching for a station, which in a way it is.

Ways to celebrate

• Watch for bats over a pond or field at dusk.
• Look for a guided bat walk at a local park or nature center.
• Read about a bat species that lives in your state.
• Leave a dead tree standing in your yard if it is safe.
• Learn how bat houses work and where they should be placed.

Dates

All national days on April 17

Also on April 17

• National Cheeseball Day
• National Crawfish Day
• National Haiku Poetry Day
• Record Store Day
• Blah Blah Blah Day
• National Kickball Day

Categories: Animal days