What are the myths, and facts, about bats? Accused of numerous evils by men, associated with funereal myths, these bats nevertheless provide great services to humans… Welcome to ” Animal », the series which is interested in the animal in town, and in the relations between these animals and us.
For the last episode of this season of “Animal”, we are going to meet Xavier Japiot, naturalist ecologist, in charge of biodiversity studies, in the direction of green spaces and the environment of the City of Paris. Let’s talk with him about the bats living in the city, so close and sometimes so far from humans…
Bats visible in the city
“Bats are everywhere around us, reports Xavier Japiot. In the city, we can find them in different habitats such as woods, parks and gardens, in building courtyards, even above our buildings, ”underlines the ecologist. In particular, you can see them near lampposts near which insects fly, even if the darkness is not complete.
Does the bat have objective reasons to be associated with the vampiric legend Dracula, bloodsucker? “The bat has a bad press with us, it’s linked to ancient myths of vampirism, answers Xavier Japiot. For the [chauve-souris] vampires, there are only three species of true vampires, which are not in Europe, but live in tropical America, some of them in Guyana. In mainland France, all species [de chauve-souris] are primarily insectivorous. These are species from which we have absolutely nothing to fear, ”he specifies.
Animals collecting disease-carrying insects
The naturalist celebrates these “extraordinary animals” that are bats. “It’s an animal that can collect nearly 200,000 insects in 200 days of activity. In terms of combating specific diseases, such as chikungunya, the tiger mosquito, all insect-related diseases, this limits their impact. These are animals that provide a lot of services,” stresses Xavier Japiot. As for the story of bats clinging to the hair of humans, it is totally false, says the ecologist. “The bat doesn’t care about us! he exclaims. To find out more about bats, all the answers in this podcast. Good listening !
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