Park Program Drives ‘Em Batty

A quick bat quiz: How many of the following statements are true about bats found in the United States?

* Bats suck blood.

* Bats are rodents.

* Bats are blind.

* Bats often get tangled in people’s hair.

All of those are false, and about 137 people were set straight on those and other bits of bat mythology at a weekend outdoor symposium at Gen. Thomas F. Riley Wilderness Park.

“People have all these preconceived myths about bats,” said Stephanie Remington, who led the nature workshop and describes herself as the closest thing Orange County has to a bat expert.

The audience, she said, “asked pretty good questions, but I get a lot of calls from people who are very scared of bats.”

One of the first things the crowd learned is that there are bats in Orange County--at least a dozen species--and that none are vampire bats. Those are not native to the United States, Remington said.

Most bats live in rural areas, but at least three species can be found in urban areas.

“They’re all around, but they come out when people come inside,” Remington said. “And bats are often mistaken for birds.”

As dusk closed in, Remington led the group along a trail into the park in search of the nocturnal winged mammals.

They spotted them with help from a machine called the Bat Detector. The device picks up the high-pitched calls used by bats and turns them into sounds that can be heard by the human ear. The machine, with a range of about 100 meters, helped Remington and her students detect flying bats.

Part of the park’s Nature of the Night series, the program is aimed at people who “are afraid of things that go bump in the dark,” park ranger Ginny McVickar said. “We want to let people know what goes on out here when they’re tucked into their beds.”

Series information: (714) 459-1687.

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Bat Control

If there’s a bat stuck in your home:

* Open doors and windows

* Only approach bat as a last resort

* Don’t touch with bare hands, use pair of leather gloves or thick blanket

* Don’t hit bat with broom or other long-handled device

* Once bat is captured, put it in a box and take outside to see if it can fly

* Local animal control will take bat away, but might be forced to euthanize it if it is injured

* If bat removal is needed Friday through Monday, during daytime business hours, call Gen. Thomas F. Riley Wilderness Park ranger Ginny McVickar at (714) 459-1687

Source: Stephanie Remington

Los Angeles Times