The 4 B's: Bees, Birds, Butterflys, and Bats

On the imaginary essential pollinators list, bees usually come first. And, we have all heard about them: the endangered insects humans depend upon for survival.

We have also heard about birds and butterflies making the essential pollinators list because they, along with bees, pollinate the plants that make up our food.

But what about bats? I've never heard of them being on the list? Do they belong there too?  After visiting the Bat Jungle in Monteverde, Costa Rica, global navigators (in climate change mitigation cohort 3) say "you betcha!"

At the Bat Jungle, the students were taken on an informational tour. Students learned about the amazing similarity between a bat skeleton and a human skeleton and experienced sound from a bats point of view.

Then students learned bats generally pollinate plants that bloom at night. This means... bats almost exclusively pollinate cocoa (responsible for the world's chocolate), agave (responsible for the worlds tequia), mangos, guavas, and bananas.

Another surprising fact is that bats won't eat American bananas. In Costa Rica, bananas come in different shapes and sizes and each banana plant ripes at different times.  In America, bananas all look the same shape and color and ripe at the same time. If bats won't eat them... why do we?

Here is a video of students trying Costa Rican bananas for the first time a few days ago:

After the Bat Jungle informational tour, students got to see fruit bats in the live bat exhibit. Bats are nocturnal animals but the ones in the exhibit have been trained to believe sunrise is sunset. That way, they are active at a time when humans can come visit.

Students spent the last moments of their tour discussing their own new favorite species of bat from choices including fruit eaters, meat (mosquito) eaters, and blood eaters (vampires).

While they learn about bat conservation in Costa Rica, they encourage you to learn about and find ways to contribute to bat conservation where you live!