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RE: Appreciating Bats Part 2: Insect-eating bats save our crops

in #steemstem7 years ago (edited)

Having bats around can have immense positive effects for humans- but it does also pose serious risks for us. Bats are one of the primary reservoirs for zootics, which are diseases that can travel back and forth between humans and animals. Nipah and Hendra viruses both have bats are their reservoirs, as does Marburg. That being said, fruitbats seem to be reservoirs more often than insectivorous bats, which is nice for these purposes. All that said, eliminating bat populations for fear of them spreading disease is also a terrible idea- it's not guaranteed to work, and will likely cause major disruption to local ecosystems.

Edit: Just saw your next post is going to be about bats and disease. Somehow missed that on my first readthrough. Looking forwards to it! You've definitely earned a follow- biology is awesome, but you're tapping into ecology as well, which is one of my favorite topics.

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Thanks for reading, and leaving this great comment! And I agree that eliminating bat populations will not work. I suppose the best plan is to try not to encroach upon their natural habitat. After all, they don't attack us unless they are sick or trapped.