BATS: AN UNDESERVED BAD RAP: Appreciating a 
maligned mammal ... 04 [" ... and they're not."]. Details 
ahead on Passport to Texas

This is Passport to Texas

Bats have earned a bad reputation, which is unfair 
to the flying mammals, says bat biologist Tara 
Poloskey.

07 -- Bats are sort of like the underdog. A lot of people don't 
appreciate them, because they're night flying creatures and 
typically nightly flying creatures are scary.
 
Then there are myths about bats: they fly into your 
hair, they're aggressive, and they spread disease. 

13 -- I have found them to be so important agriculturally, 
economically - around the world. There are 12-hundred species, 
and they live in just about every niche you can imagine; They're 
just such amazing creatures.

Poloskey says bats eat their weight in agricultural 
pests every night, reducing the need for chemical 
intervention by farmers; and they pollinate a 
variety of ornamental and edible plants worldwide. 
Without bats, earth would be a very different place.

19 -- We wouldn't have all of the beautiful trees that bats 
disperse seeds for. We wouldn't have our lovely tequila that we 
love so much. So, we would have a lot of insets. We would have 
less diversity. We would have flowers that don't bloom anymore. 
It would be a sad place.

Tomorrow: a fungus is spreading across the US, 
threatening these beneficial animals. 

The WSFR program supports our series, and funds 
diverse conservation projects in Texas. 

For Texas Parks and Wildlife ... I'm Cecilia Nasti. 




Total sound bite time:		0:39.0
Maximum Script time:		0:46.0 Suggested show time: 85.0 = 1:25