After the terrifying ordeal of having all these things in my apartment, Boyfriend told me bats really aren't that creepy and are, in fact, pretty cool animals. They get caught in your hair, carry rabies and suck blood. When I contacted Bat Conservation International in Austin, Texas, I found out all sorts of cool facts about these furry mammals. Plants such as bananas, mangos and figs in the wild rely on bats for pollination and seed dispersal. Bats, which eat seeds then excrete them later, are also big players in rainforest restoration.
Vampire bats adopt orphans and share food with hungry roost mates.
Bats aren't blind, almost never get caught in people's hair, and seldom carry rabies. Rabid bats also avoid people and won't hurt anyone if they're left alone. The picture on the front of the box shows a freaky-looking bat bearing its fangs, but the entire video just extolls the virtues of bats. It sold me. The craziest scene is one in which Australian women are feeding and brushing injured and orphaned flying foxes.