Biologist says humans shouldn’t be afraid of them; we also would be devoured alive by mosquitoes without them

If you think the nightlife in Dubuque is active, there are some critters out there who agree with you.

Dubuque is home to nine species of bats, all very active at night. If you haven’t noticed any bats fluttering around campus, you’re probably not alone. While flying, bats often look like birds. But they’re out there when the weather is warm. At this time of year, some bats are already hibernating.

Many myths about bats have evoked fear or squeamishness, especially around the Halloween season. Because watching “The Dark Knight” is probably the closest many of us have come to a bat, those bat myths need to be exposed.

Humans need not fear bats, says Bruce Ehresman, a wildlife diversity biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. He said cases of humans being attacked by bats are uncommon, even less likely than a dog attack. Cases of humans contracting rabies from bats also are “extremely rare,” he added.

Bats belong to the order Chiroptera, a Greek word meaning “hand-thumb,” which is the second-largest mammalian order on Earth. Contrary to the popular aphorism “blind as a bat,” all bats can see, though some have better eyesight than others.

When hunting, bats emit vocal sounds that rebound off their prey, creating sonar waves that quickly guide bats to their food. This system, called echolocation, is so efficient that a single bat can consume more than 500 mosquitoes per hour. Who couldn’t live with fewer mosquitoes?

Among the bat species that roam the state of Iowa are the Indiana Bat, which is a federally endangered species, as well as both the Big and Little Brown Bats. According to Ehresman, the Big Brown Bats are the species most likely to inhabit a building. Bats, just like the rest of us, try to stay out of the cold weather. Sometimes this means finding their way through an open window or door.

If a student sees a bat in a building on campus, he or she should contact the information desk, according to college officials. The information desk will contact maintenance or campus security personnel to safely remove the animal.