If you think life would be better without bats, scientists Holly Ober offers 5 reasons why you should think again.
Ober is a researcher at the University of Florida who studies the Florida bonneted bat, one of the world’s rarest species and the largest bat east of the Mississippi River. She says there are many reasons why having plenty of bats around should make us grateful, not fearful.
1. RAISE A GLASS—OR A GUAVA—TO BATS
If you like tequila or mangoes or bananas thank a bat for providing them. The agave plant, from which tequila is made, and more than 300 other plants depend on bats for pollination.
2. WITHOUT BATS, BUGS WOULD BUG YOU MORE
As the primary predators of nighttime insects, bats cut down on the bugs that bite us after dark. Their contribution to cutting down on pests also benefits agriculture. One study placed their value to North American farms around $23 billion a year.
“The world would be a very different place without bats controlling the insect population,” Ober says.
Read on to the next page for the other 3 reasons to love bats…
[nextpagelink][/nextpagelink]