ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, October 30, 1996 TAG: 9610300010
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG
Those of us who toil at The Roanoke Times' New River Valley Bureau initially thought it odd that a bat would drop by our office. Now it's gone, and on second thought, we're wondering if the bat's presence was no accident after all.
Lots of people come by here seeking publicity for their causes. And bats definitely have a public relations problem. To most people, they are the embodiment of evil, something like vampires of darkness from the depths of the earth.
The bat's arrival here at the newspaper office certainly was timely. He showed up in mid-October, as the leaves were turning and Halloween was approaching.
Perhaps this bat had an agenda hidden away with him as he crouched inside the bricks of our entrance way. If, in fact, he sought media attention to rehabilitate the image of bats - he succeeded.
That's what this story is about, the admirable qualities of bats. It even has a happy ending, as we cynical, hard-bitten newsgatherers arranged for the dramatic (well, that's what the television reporters would say) rescue of this small ambassador of batdom.
Our office on Peppers Ferry Road has a tall, open entrance way lined with bricks that have cosmetic grooves, or 'flutes.' Several weeks ago, someone here noticed that a small brown bat had taken up residence in one of the flutes.
Information is our business and word of the bat spread rapidly through the workplace. The curious and brave ventured out to peer at the bat, getting as close as they dared.
Some, to see if the bat was indeed alive, blew on it, and watched him shiver in response. One person poked him and recoiled in horror when the protesting bat squeaked.
An unscientific interoffice poll revealed varied opinions about the bat:
* "He's cute," said Sabrina Chambers of our advertising staff.
* "It's scary. It's a flying rodent," asserted sports writer Angie Watts, who gave the bat maximum room each day as she dashed into the office and by its temporary lair.
We never saw the bat fly around in the day or at night, only folded into his safe haven, which we concluded would be less than ideal, particularly if the bat contemplated making our busy entranceway his winter's hibernatorium.
So we decided to seek expert help and call Bob Lewis of the Bat Advocacy Team, BAT for short.
No, he didn't arrive in a Batmobile. But his car had "Mudbro" license plates, and Lewis wore a carabiner key chain on his belt (a carabiner is a piece of climbing gear).
Lewis, of Pulaski, is a passionate spelunker and knows bats from having explored caves as a member of the New River Grotto, the local chapter of the National Speleological Society.
He and fellow cavers have recently formed a volunteer local bat rescue squad. Lewis estimates they've saved about 5,000 of the critters during the past two months alone.
Why? Well, Lewis likes and respects bats. He says they uniformly get a bad rap. They aren't aggressive, they won't bite you and they don't carry rabies more than any other animal. What's more, a bat will eat between 4,000 and 6,000 insects on an average summer's night, much more quietly and efficiently than your carport electric bug zapper.
No self-respecting bat would come within flapping distance of humans. Lately, however, bats increasingly find themselves in uneasy conflict with us. Lewis said loss of bat habitat is the reason, as residential growth and development seal off or destroy caves.
Bats hunt for food at night and sleep during the day, even though they can see well enough to get around in daylight. Lewis says they like to snooze in dark, high, undisturbed places such as barns, trees or attics.
Few species of bat can launch themselves into flight from a standing position, Lewis said. Most have to hang upside down so they can drop or fall into space before taking wing.
Our office bat, a member of the common brown bat family, sensed the weather growing cooler and the bug population diminishing, Lewis said. Bats that don't migrate like birds are looking to bed down for the winter in a place with a relatively constant temperature and few disturbances.
That criteria didn't fit our entranceway at all. Lewis said the bat probably didn't realize that he had placed himself in a life-threatening situation. But it's not the first time he'd seen a bat hanging out in the kind of fluted bricks we have.
Most of the calls for help Lewis and the Bat Advocacy Team have received find homeowners chasing bats around the attic with brooms. "That's not going to work," he said.
Lewis and his crew usually hang netting in the areas that bats have occupied. They arrange it so the bats will be routed outside the structure when they fly, and blocked from returning. Rarely does the Bat Advocacy Team actually handle bats, he said.
He's not reticent to do so, however. Lewis donned a pair of heavy work gloves and cupped his palm so our office bat was gently pried into his hand as he slid a thick nail into the brick's groove.
The bat hissed, squeaked and seized the fabric of Lewis' glove while a small audience of Roanoke Times employees attentively watched.
"I hate to see him go. It's like he's part of the family," Chambers said.
But the bat was destined for a better and more appropriate place. Lewis placed him in a small plastic jar, then put the jar in a cooler. Crumpled newspaper cushioned the jar and kept it from rolling around inside there.
Later he took the bat inside a cave Lewis knows well, located near Dublin, and released him there.
There was no charge for his services. The Bat Advocacy Team doesn't accept fees, unless the client wants to make a donation to the New River Grotto or the National Speleological Society. "We're extremely grateful that people are conscientious enough not to kill bats," Lewis said.
Rather than exterminate bats, Lewis says anyone can call the Bat Advocacy Team at 674-9295 or 980-3654. People interested in the program are invited to attend meetings of the New River Grotto, which are held on the second Tuesday of each month at 7:30 p.m. in the Radford City Library's community room.
Meanwhile, back here at the office, things are back to normal. As far as this batty episode is concerned, we believe that we did the right thing.
GENE DALTON/Staff
The bat clings upside down to fluted blocks in the newspaper's entrance way.
LENGTH: Long : 121 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: GENE DALTON/Staff. 1. Bob Lewis of the Bat Advocacy Teamby CNBrescues the small brown bat from the entrance way of The Roanoke
Times' bureau office in Christiansburg. 2. The bat chomps down on
Lewis' gloved hand in response to being removed from his hangout.
color.