Tag: Bats

Between Sacramento and Davis, nearly 250,000 bats take flight each night beneath the Yolo Causeway

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Flock of birds flying over a marsh with mountains at sunset

You may have driven over the Yolo Causeway between West Sacramento and Davis countless times, but there is more than just traffic on the bridge. The NorCal Bat Association says underneath the causeway lives a bat colony with almost a quarter million members. Each evening, they emerge from underneath the bridge and take to the sky in search of insects, including mosquitoes. September is considered prime time for watching the bats emerge around sunset, drawing visitors who gather beneath the causeway with chairs, cameras and plenty of questions.

For visitor Ashley Manges, the experience was an unexpected surprise, as she watched hundreds of tiny silhouettes begin to fill the sky. “It’s gorgeous, isn’t it?” said Corky Quirk, a certified NorCal Bats educator who leads educational programs about the colony. “Those are bats” Quirk said people who have driven across the causeway for years may have mistaken the bats for birds. “But if you are seeing them at sunset, it’s bats,” Quirk said. The colony beneath the causeway is one of the largest urban bat colonies in the region, and the bats play an important role in the ecosystem by consuming insects.

Quirk works with the Yolo Basin Foundation to educate visitors about bats through its bat education and tour programs. The program includes a caravan tour where visitors learn about the animals before watching the colony emerge. Visitors can also see bats that are being rehabilitated by the Yolo Basin Foundation and take part in a question-and-answer presentation. Quirk said the bats’ physical characteristics help them move quickly through the air. “They have a long, narrow wing, a sign of speed,” Quirk said. “And these guys can fly faster than a cheetah can run.” Changing perceptions about bats For Quirk, the tours are about more than watching thousands of bats take flight. “Mostly I hope people learn bats are an important part of the environment and they are not scary animals, no reason to fear them,” Quirk said.

Visitors often turn the experience into an evening outing, bringing chairs and settling in beneath the causeway as they wait for the bats to emerge. The surrounding landscape provides plenty to watch while they wait, but the bats remain the main attraction. “Watching kids play in the dirt and get in touch with the world around them in nature is a great part,” Quirk said. “It is always good to see.” Then, as the sun begins to disappear, the bats start emerging. The Yolo Basin Foundation Bat Caravan tours run through September and have a $17 registration fee. NorCal Bats offers education on bats to schools year-round. Quirk says you should never handle bats and always call for help if you see one on the ground for safety.

Source: Between Sacramento and Davis, nearly 250,000 bats take flight each night beneath the Yolo Causeway – CBS Sacramento

Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus.
Romans 15:5

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Berkeley officials sound alarm after 5 bats test positive for rabies

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Bat flying over a residential neighborhood beneath a cloudy dusk sky

Officials in the East Bay city of Berkeley have issued a warning to residents and doctors amid a rising number of bats that have tested positive for rabies. In a letter sent to the Berkeley City Council on Aug. 26, City Manager Paul Buddenhagen’s office said lab tests confirmed five rabies-positive bats were found. The bats were located in West and North Berkeley, both in residential and commercial areas.

“This represents an increase over the historical baseline of zero to two rabies-positive bats per year between 2020 and 2025,” said the city manager’s office. No human rabies cases have been identified in Berkeley, officials said. Separately, Alameda County health officials confirmed a rabies-positive cat in Pleasanton that tested positive on June 29. According to officials, rabies is a serious infection of the nervous system caused by the rabies virus. While rare, the disease is almost always fatal once symptoms appear.

The disease is almost entirely preventable if treated before symptoms begin. City officials offered several tips, including not touching or handling bats, keeping pets’ rabies vaccinations current and preventing bats from entering one’s home by sealing gaps and openings. If one is bitten or scratched by a mammal, officials urge residents to wash the wound with soap and water for 15 minutes and to seek medical attention.

Bites should be reported to the city’s Communicable Disease Prevention & Control Program (510) 981-5292 and Alameda County Vector Control at 510-567-6800. Officials also urged anyone who finds a bat indoors, dead or alive, not to release or dispose of the animal and to immediately contact vector control.

Source: Berkeley officials sound alarm after 5 bats test positive for rabies – CBS San Francisco

Seek good and not evil, That you may live; So the LORD God of hosts will be with you, As you have spoken.
Amos 5:14

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Authorities urge caution after dead bat tests positive for rabies in DeKalb County

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Hundreds of bats flying across a sunset sky above a mountain valley

Health authorities are asking residents in DeKalb County to watch their pets after a dead bat tested positive for rabies. Authorities say the bat was found in the area around Terry Mill Road and tested positive on Aug. 21. Georgia is a rabies-endemic state, which means the virus can be found in wildlife year-round. Officials say that means it’s important for residents to make sure their pets are up-to-date on their vaccinations and avoid animals that may be behaving in unusual ways. In July, a dead bat was found in the area near South DeKalb Columbia Drive and York Place around Stone Mountain, health officials say.

Other animals, such as raccoons, have tested positive in recent months. The National Association of State Health Veterinarians says all unvaccinated dogs and cats exposed to a rabid animal need to be quarantined for four months and vaccinated one month before being released. If you have been bitten or scratched by any stray animals or an animal suspected to have rabies, seek medical care immediately and let your provider know about the possible exposure. After that, contact GNR Public Health at (770) 339-4260 and ask for the on-call epidemiologist. To report an animal behaving in an unusual way or to report an animal bite, call DeKalb County Animal Control at (404) 294-2996, ext. 2, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, or (404) 294-2519 after hours.

Source: Authorities urge caution after dead bat tests positive for rabies in DeKalb County – CBS Atlanta

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
1 John 3:1

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Bat found in Livingston County tests positive for rabies, health officials say

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Bat flying above forested mountains beneath a sunset sky

A bat found in Livingston County, Michigan, has tested positive for rabies, the local health department said on Thursday. Officials said the finding marks the first rabies case in an animal reported in the county this year. They have yet to disclose where in the region the bat was located.  Rabies is a deadly virus that spreads to people from the saliva of infected animals, according to the Mayo Clinic. It’s usually transmitted through a bite from a bat, coyote, fox, raccoon or skunk. Livingston County health officials say bat bites can be very small and people may be exposed to rabies even if they don’t see a bite or scratch.

According to health officials, exposure to rabies can also happen when a person touches a bat’s saliva or brain tissue or wakes up with one in their bedroom. Children, people with developmental disabilities and intoxicated individuals may also be considered exposed if they are in a room with a bat. Anyone in Livingston County who believes they’ve been exposed is asked to capture the bat, report the exposure by filling out a form on the health department’s website and call department staff at 517‑552‑6882 for testing guidance and next steps. Health officials say people can prevent rabies by keeping bats out of homes, vaccinating their pets and washing bites or scratches with soap and water before seeking medical help. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources says the state is home to nine species of bats.

Source: Bat found in Livingston County tests positive for rabies, health officials say – CBS Detroit

Yes, in the way of Your judgments, O LORD, we have waited for You; The desire of our soul is for Your name And for the remembrance of You.
Isaiah 26:8

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Rabies alerts issued in Harford, Anne Arundel counties involving racoon, bat and fox

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Raccoon foraging beside dense vegetation in a suburban backyard

Health officials in Harford and Anne Arundel counties have issued new rabies alerts involving a racoon, a fox and a bat. The Harford County Health Department said Tuesday it had received confirmation from state health officials that two animals — a racoon and a fox — had tested positive for the rabies virus.  The rabid raccoon was found near the 200 block of Cooley Mill Road, in Havre de Grace, while the rabid fox was found near the 700 block of Walters Mill Road in Forest Hill, Maryland. The health department said the rabid animals may have exposed people or pets in surrounding areas.    

“Witnessing a raccoon, fox, or other wildlife is not cause for alarm,” the department said in a statement. “But if you or your pets have had contact with a raccoon or fox near the specified areas, please call the Harford County Health Department at 410-877-2300 for follow-up.” Anne Arundel bat alert In Anne Arundel County, an alert was issued by the health department seeking information about anyone who might have come in contact with an infected bat found outside Almondbury Drive in Pasadena. A statement said the bat was found August 9 and tested positive for rabies. The Arundel County Department of Health is urging anyone who might have come into contact with the bat to contact the department at 410-222-7254. Area residents who discover unexplained wounds on their pets should also reach out to report the injuries. 

Rabies is spread by the bite or scratch of an infected animal, such as a groundhog, cat, fox, raccoon, skunk or bat. It is also spread when an infected animal’s saliva comes in contact with the eyes, nose, mouth or open cut of a person or another animal. Latest warnings follow recent biting incidents Preventive treatment might be required for anyone who handled, fed or was attacked by the infected animal. Rabies is a fatal disease, and preventive treatment (injections) must be started as soon as possible. The latest reports of rabid animals follows an incident in July in which a beaver infected with rabies bit a 13-year-old boy at Cunningham Falls State Park in Maryland’s Frederick County.

The boy sustained injuries to his hands and chest and was flown to Johns Hopkins Hospital for treatment.   Then, earlier this month, a 19-year-old man was bitten on the leg while visiting Cunningham Falls State Park. 

Source: Rabies alerts issued in Harford, Anne Arundel counties involving racoon, bat and fox – CBS Baltimore

For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
2 Corinthians 5:21

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