Audio By Carbonatix
Bats are generally lumped in with nature’s creepy-crawlies; despite a strong cultural tie to vampires, however, the majority of them are merely interested in chomping on bugs and fruit, not flesh and blood.
Tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the Aurora Municipal Center (15151 East Alameda Parkway), Rob Mies, director of the Organization for Bat Conservation, will present a Live Bat Encounter and attempt to dispel those batty myths by discussing several types of the nocturnal creatures, including a flying fox bat from Malaysia, which has a six-foot wing span.
Liz Wickard, interpretive naturalist for Aurora’s Morrison Nature Center, thinks the program will help folks see bats as helpful, not frightful. Not only do bats eat 600 to 1,000 insects an hour, pollinate many of the fruit plants and reforest the rainforest by spreading seeds, but they also pollinate the agave plant — which, notes Wickard, “is where we get tequila. So raise your next margarita and say, ‘Thank you, bats!'”
The program is $5; reservations can be made at www.plainscenter.org or 303-693-3621.
Fri., Sept. 28, 7:30-9 p.m., 2007
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