Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, November 9, 1995 TAG: 9511090008
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: E-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BETH DAY PASHLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
But the excitement was almost too much for the 6- and 7-year-olds.
They bobbed up and down like apples in a washtub.
They were just minutes away from seeing a real bat up close.
Their eyes were fixed on Amy Chattin, education coordinator at the Mill Mountain Zoo, while she took the white towel off the plastic container and lifted the brown lid.
The Halloween star of Mill Mountain Zoo's Ed-zoo-cation program fit in Chattin's hand.
``Oooooooooh,'' the children cooed. ``Ahhhhhhhhh.''
``That's cute,'' said one.
``Why isn't he flying?''asked another.
Actually, he's a she. Suzy, a 7-year-old big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus), can't fly. She was attacked by a cat five years ago and left with a torn wing.
Despite the name of her species, Suzy wasn't big at all. She was just 3 inches of chocolate brown fur - not much bigger than an adult's thumb. She had a tiny face with big ears. Her wings were folded close to her body.
"If you want to touch Suzy,'' Chattin said, ``make your finger into a number one and raise your hand.''
See and touch? It was almost too good to be true.
A room full of little fingers shot straight up.
Suzy hung on to Chattin's hand and let the students touch her one by one. She opened her tiny mouth and revealed her little teeth.
"Suzy is a popular guest to classrooms at this time of year," Chattin said. Between Oct. 16-20, Chattin presented 10 bat programs and logged 700 miles for Mill Mountain Zoo.
The zoo charges $35 for each of its Ed-zoo-cation programs, with topics ranging from mammals to reptiles. However, discounts are given when more than one program or session is scheduled.
Jeanette Warwick, the Round Hill teacher who arranged Suzy's visit, said the school paid $50 for five classes to participate in two sessions.In addition to ``Bats,'' the zoo offers five programs with topics ranging from mammals to reptiles. During October, Chattin presented six to seven programs a week.
Warwick spent a week preparing her students for Suzy's visit.
"They really like the bat puppet that I use; they think it's cool," she said.
Using information from the American Bat Conservation Society in Rockville, Md., Warwick focused on dispelling bat myths by teaching pupils about conservation. Her students learned new words like "colony," "roost" and "nocturnal."
For Suzy's visit, pupils made a paper bat colony that hangs from a light fixture and name tags that read "I'm batty about bats."
The children had to sit through about a half-hour of slides and lecture/discussion before getting to see the bat. But they learned plenty along the way.
Chattin showed slides that gave students a chance to see bats bigger than life, including nectar, hoary and mastiff bats.
They learned that bats are mammals and roost in colonies. Babies usually are born in April, and the pups drink milk until they are 5 months old. Adult bats take turns baby-sitting the pups. About October, they can fly and follow adults south to hibernate for the winter. They are fully grown by age 2.
Because there are no mosquitoes around when it's cold, Roanoke bats sleep through the winter, Chattin said.
"Bears do that!'' yelled one student.
``Bats are very special,'' Chattin said. "They have a head, hair, two eyes, two ears, a nose, a mouth, teeth, shoulders, elbows, fingers, thumbs, knees and toes - just like you." Bats use their fingers to fly. Skin connects their fingers.
Chattin said bats like to hang upside down because they fly with their hands so it's is easier to hang by the toes. ``It's the easiest way to get to a mosquito. Let go of your toes, and off you go,'' Chattin said.
A bat can eat 600 flying bugs a night, but Suzy and her two daughters, Echo and Screech, eat crunchy mealworms raised by the zoo staff.
``Bats need our help," Chattin explained. "They need us to be their friends. We're destroying where they live." Bats live in high, dark, quiet places such as caves, attics and abandoned buildings.
By the end of the presentation, the children seemed to have gotten the message about bats - they are our buddies.
Warwick said seeing a real bat made the difference.
"It doesn't have an impact until they see one up close," she said.
"Did anyone get hurt when they touched Suzy?'' Chattin asked before putting the bat away.
"Noooooooooo," the students answered in unison.
For more information about Mill Mountain Zoo's Ed-zoo-cation programs, call Amy Chattin at 343-3221 or 343-3241.
If you find an injured/downed bat, call Dorothy Runion, Roanoke Wildlife Rescue, 989-3798. If the bat needs rehabilitation, it will be referred to one of her ``bat experts.''
To learn more about bats, send $3 (please don't send cash) for an information package to the American Bat Conservation Society (ABCS), P.O. Box 1393, Rockville, Md. 20849. ABCS Bat Hot Line (301) 309-6610, fax: (301) 424-3938.
by CNB