The Bat Jungle - Student Post

Today students went to the Bat Jungle! They learned that there are many myths about bats that lead to misinformation about the importance of bats to nature and preservation of the climate. Today’s blog is a student highlight by Thomas Seiwert.

"Last Thursday we traveled to a bat museum/zoo and got a brief but comprehensive lesson on bats and how they fit into the connected ecosystem of Monte Verde. One thing I found mind-blowing was how similar to humans bats are, sharing around ninety percent of their DNA with humans. In Costa Rica there are roughly 110 bat species, an insane number of species for the tiny size of Costa Rica. We also learned that bats are very important for our ecosystems because some species help pollinate a wide number of plants including bananas, and other species of bats are essential for eating and pooping seeds of plants. Therefore its important that we protect them because they are a critical part in many different ecosystems around the world. Unfortunately Climate Change is going to have a very detrimental impact on bats for a number of reasons. From their climates becoming too hot to support them, to them leaving hibernation too early putting them at a risk of depleted energy and messing with their birth cycles."