Gimpy's Adventures in Ventureland
Yesterday me and Terry went to visit Rose at the BAT ZONE. The Bat Zone is hidden behind a boring science museum and is the LARGEST BAT HOME in the country. The Bat Zone has exclusively nocturnal animals, and besides bats they also have owls, sugar gliders, some little flying squirrils, a two-toed sloth, and a big fat frog.
The Bat Zone has 167 animals including 140 bats. All of their animals are non-releaseable, meaning they are either injured from the wild, retired from a zoo, or were raised in captivity and wouldn't know how to handle their shit in the wild.
The Bat Zone is only about the size of a small house, but it is an AMAZING PLACE. Rose volunteers there cutting up fruit and washing cages.
The Bat Zone is on a reverse-light cycle so that their bats are awake during the day. That way kids can see bats flying around instead of just a bunch of rolled-up sleeping bats.
The Bat Zone hires two or three full-time presenters, who travel around the country giving presentations for school groups and museums and whoever about bats. Some of the bats at the Bat Zone are travellers and go on presentations. National Geographic has done filming at the Bat Zone. Author of the kids book Stella Luna used the Bat Zone to help her make her illustrations.
The Bat Zone has two VAMPIRE BATS. DID YOU KNOW that vampire bats usually suck pigs and cows, but if they ever get a taste for human blood, they will hunt down the same human being again and again, since they rarely find one that doesn't give them diahrea? DID YOU KNOW that a vampire bat who has it in for a certain human will know that human apart from every other by the sound of air leaving its nose?
DID YOU KNOW that bats are polite, and will move away from the other bats before pooping?
DID YOU KNOW that some bats live in harems, with eight females per one male, but some bats mate with one partner for life?
DID YOU KNOW that there is no such thing as a blind bat, except maybe one who got hit by a car?
DID YOU KNOW that there are two kinds of bats in Michigan, and they are called Big Brown Bats and Little Brown Bats?
DID YOU KNOW that fruit bats are the most important pollinators of the African and Asian rainforests, distributing 98% of all seeds?
DID YOU KNOW that this makes fruit bats a KEYSTONE SPECIES to saving and rebuilding the rainforest?
DID YOU KNOW that fruit bats are amazing pollinators because they poop while flying and because they eat up to their weight in one day?
DID YOU KNOW that only microbats eco-locate, but bigger bats (megabats) don't?
DID YOU KNOW that microbats eat insects, but mega bats eat fruit?
DID YOU KNOW that very few languages besides English have an actual word for "bat," because most languages just call it a "flying mouse"?
DID YOU KNOW that bats might be more closely related to humans than to mice?
DID YOU KNOW that bats have opposable thumbs?
DID YOU KNOW that bats only have one baby per year?
DID YOU KNOW that almost every hospital now uses an anti-coagulent discovered first in the spit of vampire bats?
DID YOU KNOW that up to nine more drugs are in the works that were discovered through vampire bat spit?
DID YOU KNOW that the Golded Bat who appeared on Conan OBrian lives at the Bat Zone and his name is Congo?
The Bat Zone has 167 animals including 140 bats. All of their animals are non-releaseable, meaning they are either injured from the wild, retired from a zoo, or were raised in captivity and wouldn't know how to handle their shit in the wild.
The Bat Zone is only about the size of a small house, but it is an AMAZING PLACE. Rose volunteers there cutting up fruit and washing cages.
The Bat Zone is on a reverse-light cycle so that their bats are awake during the day. That way kids can see bats flying around instead of just a bunch of rolled-up sleeping bats.
The Bat Zone hires two or three full-time presenters, who travel around the country giving presentations for school groups and museums and whoever about bats. Some of the bats at the Bat Zone are travellers and go on presentations. National Geographic has done filming at the Bat Zone. Author of the kids book Stella Luna used the Bat Zone to help her make her illustrations.
The Bat Zone has two VAMPIRE BATS. DID YOU KNOW that vampire bats usually suck pigs and cows, but if they ever get a taste for human blood, they will hunt down the same human being again and again, since they rarely find one that doesn't give them diahrea? DID YOU KNOW that a vampire bat who has it in for a certain human will know that human apart from every other by the sound of air leaving its nose?
DID YOU KNOW that bats are polite, and will move away from the other bats before pooping?
DID YOU KNOW that some bats live in harems, with eight females per one male, but some bats mate with one partner for life?
DID YOU KNOW that there is no such thing as a blind bat, except maybe one who got hit by a car?
DID YOU KNOW that there are two kinds of bats in Michigan, and they are called Big Brown Bats and Little Brown Bats?
DID YOU KNOW that fruit bats are the most important pollinators of the African and Asian rainforests, distributing 98% of all seeds?
DID YOU KNOW that this makes fruit bats a KEYSTONE SPECIES to saving and rebuilding the rainforest?
DID YOU KNOW that fruit bats are amazing pollinators because they poop while flying and because they eat up to their weight in one day?
DID YOU KNOW that only microbats eco-locate, but bigger bats (megabats) don't?
DID YOU KNOW that microbats eat insects, but mega bats eat fruit?
DID YOU KNOW that very few languages besides English have an actual word for "bat," because most languages just call it a "flying mouse"?
DID YOU KNOW that bats might be more closely related to humans than to mice?
DID YOU KNOW that bats have opposable thumbs?
DID YOU KNOW that bats only have one baby per year?
DID YOU KNOW that almost every hospital now uses an anti-coagulent discovered first in the spit of vampire bats?
DID YOU KNOW that up to nine more drugs are in the works that were discovered through vampire bat spit?
DID YOU KNOW that the Golded Bat who appeared on Conan OBrian lives at the Bat Zone and his name is Congo?