October belongs to these vital, mysterious, emblems of the night.
Everywhere you look this time of year — store displays, front porches, Halloween cards — bats are in the mix. But don’t forget to look up: they’re in our skies, too. 🦇👀
For Philly’s bat populations, October is a last hurrah before winter. Some will hibernate here, others will migrate south, but all are busy bulking up on bugs. And fall is a buffet — insects are at their fattest, yet sluggish on cool nights, making for easy pickings.
With the leaves coming down, it’s easier than ever to spot their twilight acrobatics. No wonder October is Bat Appreciation Month! The perfect time to learn why these misunderstood mammals deserve a little extra love.
Bats are the only true flying mammals on earth — not gliders, but real-deal aviators. They navigate in the dark with echolocation, snapping up moths, beetles, and mosquitoes by the thousands.
Farmers count on them as natural pest control, saving U.S. agriculture billions every year. Some species also pollinate fruit crops and disperse seeds, keeping ecosystems balanced. Turns out their guano is an incredible fertilizer, to boot.
Despite their spooky reputation, bats aren’t out to get us. The ones in Philly are small, shy, and — once you get to know them — surprisingly charming. They don’t attack people, and even if they tried, their tiny teeth and weak jaws wouldn’t do much damage.
To top it off, fewer than 1% of all bats carry rabies — a lower rate than many other mammals. And being so small, a rabid bat is typically overcome by the disease and lethargic, not aggressive.
In fact, the bats we see in real life are surprisingly charming and downright loveable, once you get to know them.
Meet the Locals
Pennsylvania is home to nine bat species, but here in our corner you’re most likely to see:
- Little brown bats — About the size of a field mouse, with shiny brown fur and wingspans no wider than a sparrow’s. They’re nimble, erratic flyers, darting and zig-zagging expertly after prey.
- Big brown bats — Like dusky chipmunks with wings! Chunkier than their little cousins and steadier in flight, they’re one of the most common city bats, often roosting in garages, attics, or under bridges.
- Eastern red bats — Similar in size to the big brown bat, but with a striking rusty coat. Unlike the other two, red bats don’t hibernate but instead migrate south in late October – November. They also uniquely roost in trees rather than buildings, wrapping their tails around themselves like a leafy blanket.
All three are nocturnal, hunting in the night while the rest of us sleep. Cloaked in myth and mystery, they’re environmental superheroes. Like tiny winged Batmen, taking out pests and keeping our world in balance.
🦇 Fun Bat Facts 🤓
- Only mammals that can truly fly. While some species can go as fast as 100 mph, our local bats are more like 10 – 20 mph (though most can reach 40 mph when they’re really hauling).
- A baby bat is called a pup; grown bats just adults, with no specific name for male and female.
- When bats roost together it’s called a “colony” but when you see groups of them flying in the sky, that’s a “cauldron.”
- About 80 medications come from plants that rely on bats for survival – including agave and cacao (from which we also get tequila and chocolate!)
- Like cats, bats are fastidious about grooming, and spend much of their time cleaning themselves.
- Bats are outliers to the general rule that small animals have short lifespans. Bats have been known to survive 20 – 30 years in the wild. The oldest ever documented was a male Siberian bat who lived at least 41 years (he’d been banded as an adult and tracked over the years).
- A bat’s wing is actually its hand! Each wing has a thumb and four fingers like our hands do, and the flexible webbing between allows them to fly. Unlike birds, they can grab and climb with their wings.
- Bats can eat 50% (or more) of their bodyweight in insects every night – over a thousand an hour! That’s like 200 quarter pound burgers for the average human.
- Vampire bats are real but not as scary as they sound: they feast on cattle, not humans, and basically function as mammalian mosquitos. And they’re far away in Central America (for now).
- Bats have been a main food source in the Asia-Pacific region since prehistoric times. Today, bat meat remains a traditional dish in many cultures, especially in Guam where the large, indigenous fruit bat is boiled whole in coconut milk and vegetables.
- While bats have long been associated with darkness and witchcraft in European folklore, the Chinese consider bats lucky symbols of happiness and prosperity.
- An Appalachian superstition says if a bat circles a house three times, death would soon visit. But bats in your field at dusk was a sign there’d be a good harvest.
- In 1992, Weekly World News introduced the story of “Bat Boy” a half-bat, half-human creature discovered in a cave, who would become a pop-culture icon and inspire an off-Broadway musical.
The Killer in the Cave
It sounds like something from a horror story — and for bats, it is. White-nose Syndrome is a deadly disease brought on by a cold-loving fungus that creeps through caves and wakes hibernating bats too early, draining their energy until they starve. In Pennsylvania, once-common species like the little brown bat have crashed by more than 90%. Scientists and groups like Bat Conservation International are racing to stop the spread before it’s too late.
🖤 Bat Appreciation Month Events 🖤
🎃🦇 October brings plenty of ways to celebrate bats, both close to home and online.
🙌 Elmwood Park Zoo – Celebrate Bats!
Sat. Oct. 25, 4–5:30 pm, Norristown
Hands-on activities, games, and an up-close look at bats during this Bat Week family program.
😍 Ridley Creek State Park – Going to Bat for Bats
Sat. Oct. 25, 10 am–2 pm, Media
Visit a trailside exhibit and chat with park naturalists about bats’ role in ecosystems and how to protect their habitat
🧑🏫 Fangtastic Life of Bats – Webinar
Tues. Oct. 7, 7 pm
Pennsylvania Game Commission biologist Levi Johnson hosts a lively online program exploring the lives of bats here and around the world
🦇🔦 Bat Conservation International – Virtual Cave Adventures
Sat. Oct. 25 & Mon. Oct. 27, 7:30 pm
Travel (virtually) into Bracken Cave and Mexico’s Cueva del Diablo to witness massive bat flights and learn about the myths that surround them.
More events, plus a nationwide “Step Up for Bats” challenge, are listed at batcon.org.
For Pennsylvania-specific bat info and updates, follow Pennsylvania Bat Conservation and Rehabilitation on Facebook and Instagram.
Thoughts? Comments? Please leave them below. If you enjoyed this Local wildlife feature, please check out last month’s spotlight on raccoons in the city.
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