The Nightlife of the Natural World (part 1 of 2)

by Kevin Strauss

We often think of nighttime as being the quiet time of day, the time when work ends and people settle into their houses and into their beds. But for animals, it is a different story. Dusk and dark are some the of best times to go looking for wildlife and they travel and search for food.

This week, when I was out for an evening stroll, I had a big brown bat fly over my head and heard the frogs singing in the nearby marsh. And as I walked in the gathering darkness, a whole new world of nighttime creatures came awake.

More likely than not, any bats that people see fluttering near their homes will be either little or big brown bats. These bats seem to have adapted well to living in attics, barns, cabins, behind shutters or in bridge expansion joints. The other species that we have here often sleep hanging on trees or in old woodpecker holes and hollow trees. That means that unless you are a logger, you aren't likely to encounter any of these species.

While the popular imagination is rife with warnings about the dangers of 'rabid' bats and stories bats getting tangled in people's hair, such accounts don't stand up to scrutiny. Bats are no more likely to carry rabies than any other mammal. What's more, unless a person finds a bat lying on the ground and tries to pick it up with his or her bear hands, the bat has no way to to bite a human and pass on the rabies virus. According to experts, common racoons and skunks are far more likely to carry rabies than any bat species.

As for the stories of 'bats in the hair,' if a bat seems to be swooping low over your head, don't worry. It is probably just trying to snatch some of the mosquitoes that you are attracting.

While bats are the only truly 'flying' mammals, flying squirrels use their loose skin 'wings' to glide through out northwoods nights. Unlike the predator bats, who are active at night to catch insects, flying squirrels are active at night to avoid predators, and to avoid competing with the more prolific red and gray squirrels. Hunters like hawks and fishers are sleeping at night, but that doesn't mean that flying squirrels are safe from all danger. Great horned owls have been known to silently swoop out of the trees to nab a hapless squirrel. When this happens, all we are likely to hear is a high-pitched squeak as the squirrel struggles to escape the clutches of the owl.

I am always surprised by what I see on an evening walk, even in the city limits of a small town. So this week, be sure to get out and look for nighttime wildlife in your neighborhood.

The Ely Timberjay