While some fans of old horror films might question why anyone would want to attract thousands of bats to the Southland it turns out they’re a very important part of the ecosystem, experts say.
A group of them gathered in recently to help give bats a new home in the area.
Workers with the Friends of the Chicago River this month installed what they called a “bat condo” along Thorn Creek at Joe Orr Woods in Chicago Heights.
The 4-by-4 foot shelter can house as many as 2,000 bats, organizers said.
“Bats here in Cook County eat a lot of different insects, including those dangerous to farms and gardens,” said Margaret Frisbie, executive director of Friends of the Chicago River.
Among those insects gobbled up by bats are those counted among the most annoying — Friends organizers said bats are a natural option for mosquito abatement. They also help pollinate plants and spread seeds.
Frisbie said there are a lot of myths about bats that just aren’t true.
“People think bats get stuck in their hair,” she said. “That’s not true.”
Frisbie said bats are excellent flyers and typically stay away from humans.
Bats, which are the only flying mamals, also are not blind and, in fact, have good night vision, as well as the use of echolocation like sonar.
The animals have had some recent negative press after several rabid bats were found in the area.
“Most cases of rabies in Illinois are almost always found in bats,” said Illinois Department of Public Health Director Nirav D. Shah in a press release.
Still, less than 5 percent of bats tested for rabies are found to be rabid, IDPH officials said.
Frisbie said people shouldn’t approach a bat if it appears to be sick.
Normally, she said a bat would fly from a human but if it allows someone to get close that’s a sign it’s sick.
The new bat house in Chicago Heights sits 12 feet in the air on stilts. Workers lifted it via crane onto a platform.
The house, in which bats enter through slits, is exposed to the sun for heat which is preferred by bats.
Frisbie said the bat houses have been professionally built and have been vetted by scientists with the Cook County Forest Preserves.
Friends has installed several bat houses in Cook County since 2015, but bats have yet to come in large numbers. They’re expected soon, though. Frisbie said it can take between three to five years for bats to move in to their new homes.
Bats are one of three types of native animals the group is targeting as it strives to improve the overall health of the Chicago area’s river systems.
Friends also built nesting platforms to encourage a larger native osprey population and cleared areas of invasive plants, so native turtles can have somewhere to lay their eggs.
So far, Frisbie said, Friends workers have cleared about 100 acres of invasive plants and turtles almost immediately started to come back to the Chicago area’s waterways.
She said the fish population also is on the rise thanks to better sewage treatment.
Frisbie said a better ecosystem also makes humans happier.
“It improves our quality of life to have a diverse ecosystem,” she said. “Whatever is healthy for wildlife is healthy for people, too.”
