Bats

[Old Croc]

I was watching tv in a darkened room the other night when I noticed weird shadows darting around the room.

I initially thought it was a moth in front of the light in the next room, but when something swooped past my head a few times I realised it was something bigger.

Turned on the light and discovered a small bat flying around the lounge in a bit of a panic (the light probably didn't help!). Initially I thought about trying to catch it, but commonsense prevailed and instead I opened a window through which it eventually escaped.

In Australia flying foxes can carry a disease called lyssavirus which can be fatal for humans if bitten.

Are bat bites dangerous in Thailand if you are unlucky enough to get bitten?

Do they carry rabies, or other infectious diseases, here?

(vampire jokes will be ignored)

[F1fanatic]

I've had a bat flying round my house a couple of times, but they eventually found their way out.

Last I heard, there hasn't been any rabies on Phuket for several years. No idea about any other infectious bat-borne diseases, but if you leave them alone they have no reason to bite you.

[Shot]

OK, a vampire, a priest, and a duck walk into a bar…..

But really, I think you always have to do the rabies thing when bitten, if the animal is not caught. Or, is that old school junk?

[TheWalkingMan]

I knew a chick from somewhere in the deep northeast and she told me that when she was younger she would eat one of the species of bat. I was surprised.

[Guest]

I knew a chick from somewhere in the deep northeast and she told me that when she was younger she would eat one of the species of bat. I was surprised.

That's happening here in Phuket as well. At least there are people who are caching bats (I guess fruit bats) with nets.

[MisterMan]

I can handle snakes and spiders but NOT bats!!!! Nice to know if they fly in they will fly out. One of my worst fears that and that it flys into my hair. ick.

[Old Croc]

I can handle snakes and spiders but NOT bats!!!! Nice to know if they fly in they will fly out. One of my worst fears that and that it flys into my hair. ick.

When I was renting in Rawai we had bats that would swoop down to drink from the pool after dusk. If I happened to be swimming at the time didn't seem to bother them. I got used to close encounters, trusting in their inbuilt navigation systems to avoid me.

Although the bat came quite close to my head in my loungeroom the other day I wasn't worried it would hit me.

[F1fanatic]

OK, a vampire, a priest, and a duck walk into a bar…..

But really, I think you always have to do the rabies thing when bitten, if the animal is not caught. Or, is that old school junk?

You don't have to have the rabies jabs when bitten, but it is understandably recommended and you will be put under a lot of pressure to have the jabs.

[NomadJoe]

If you ever drive the coast road between Kata and Rawai you will see them darting about catching the insects which congregate around the street lights. It is really distracting as they are darting across the road just in front of you. Twice I have had one bounce off the shield of my helmet with quite a bit of force as I was moving at a good clip on the Ninja. I guess "blind as a bat" is true.

Edited September 11, 2012 by NomadJoe

[MisterMan]

If you ever drive the coast road between Kata and Rawai you will see them darting about catching the insects which congregate around the street lights. It is really distracting as they are darting across the road just in front of you. Twice I have had one bounce off the shield of my helmet with quite a bit of force as I was moving at a good clip on the Ninja. I guess "blind as a bat" is true.

Arg!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes I have seen them and put my face shield down. Oh no.. so their radar is not that great.

Will they bite ?

[MissChris]

You are talking about the small insectivorous bats. They echolocate but can also see. The certainly won't get caught in your hair. I've cared for them in a special enclosure & they manage to stay well away from people.

Bangladeshi fruit bats CAN carry Nipah virus apparently, so are handled with heavy duty PPE. Don't know what specific diseases Phuket bats carry, but they shouldn't be handled. Their teeth are pretty small, so you'd have to get up close & personal to get bitten.

Bats are reservoirs of all sorts of diseases from Ebola to Marburg to measles & goodness only knows what else. There are 'spillover' events for various diseases including Hendra in Australia, which kills horses then people, creating huge negative media attention for fruit bats.

Lyssavirus in Australia is rare, but, as a variant of rabies, has no cure. If bitten or scratched into a nerve ending by any bat, my recommendation would be: FIRST wash thoroughly. Then get your 5 rabies shots. Not worth the risk.

[MissChris]

BTW they are much cuter than spiders & snakes. Yep, that's a dummy in its mouth...

This one probably wasn't hanging on to its mum properly No fur yet.

[cloudhopper]

If bitten or scratched into a nerve ending by any bat, my recommendation would be: FIRST wash thoroughly. Then get your 5 rabies shots. Not worth the risk.

Good advice if bitten or scratched by dam_n near any animal IMO. Hmmmm they gave me only a 3 shot course....

[phuketsub]

I very seldom see bats in Phuket and wonder if some posters aren't confusing them with the proliferation of edible-nest swiftlets caused by the 'swiftlet ranching' boom to serve the Chinese tourists' demand for bird's nest soup...they are also nocturnal, can't perch, fly like they are on speed, and feed on insects by echo-location at night

Just a thought....

[KarenBravo]

I've eaten barbecued fruit-bat on-a-stick in Manado, Sulewesi.

Not much meat and too many bones. Tastes like chicken.

Edited September 11, 2012 by KarenBravo

[Old Croc]

I very seldom see bats in Phuket and wonder if some posters aren't confusing them with the proliferation of edible-nest swiftlets caused by the 'swiftlet ranching' boom to serve the Chinese tourists' demand for bird's nest soup...they are also nocturnal, can't perch, fly like they are on speed, and feed on insects by echo-location at night

Just a thought....

No!

I've seen hundreds of bats here, of various sizes, and thousands of swifts (swiftlets). I don't confuse the two particularly when one is flying around my loungeroom!

[Guest]

I see little bats hunting mosquitoes and other flying insects front of my home every night. Few times inside of my home as well.

Fruit bats on weekly basis. I guess those are having babies at this time as I can occasionally hear the very creepy sounds, which I suppose comes from the fruit bat babies.

Hunting for the bats was here http://map.panphuket.com/mappoint/bat-traps

Not sure if they do it every evening or just every now and then.

[Chicog]

You should build your own bat home for the garden. Their poo is one of natures greatest fertilisers.

[NomadJoe]

I very seldom see bats in Phuket and wonder if some posters aren't confusing them with the proliferation of edible-nest swiftlets caused by the 'swiftlet ranching' boom to serve the Chinese tourists' demand for bird's nest soup...they are also nocturnal, can't perch, fly like they are on speed, and feed on insects by echo-location at night

Just a thought....

Definitely bats. I see them all the time particularly around dusk as you can easily see them against the still slightly lit sky. Occasionally they will fly parallel to me for just a moment on the a fore mentioned Kata-Rawai road. Due to the new streetlights that are a single point of light, not a fluorescent tube, I can see a perfect, unmistakable silhouette in the form of a shadow the road, but sometimes much bigger depending on their proximity to the light. Besides the occasional bat bouncing off my face shield, that is the other reason why they are so distracting on that road at night. I keep thinking a dog or cat has run out from the side of the road, but it's just a bat shadow.

I didn't know any birds used echo location. Turns out that ability has evolved in a few species. That is interesting. I have to correct you on one thing though. According to what I read, apparently Swiftlets don't hunt using echolocation as it's a rudimentary system when compared to bats. They use it to navigate dark caves.

Edited September 12, 2012 by NomadJoe

[Guest]

Few photos of the bats. Flying ones difficult to take.

And one which was slightly slower than cat's paw.

[Semper]

I knew a chick from somewhere in the deep northeast and she told me that when she was younger she would eat one of the species of bat. I was surprised.

They'll eat anything there.

[KarenBravo]

And one which was slightly slower than cat's paw.

Which is why I hate cats and throw stones at them.

Indigenous wild-life rules OK.

[geriatrickid]

And one which was slightly slower than cat's paw.

Which is why I hate cats and throw stones at them.

Indigenous wild-life rules OK.

You eat bats and throw rocks at cats.

Are your comments intended to provoke an angry reaction, or do you really have an inability to co-exist with animals?

Bats are an important natural form of insect control and more efficient than pesticides, but don't let that interfere with your gastronomic adventures.

You remain predictable though.

Edited September 15, 2012 by geriatrickid

[NomadJoe]

And one which was slightly slower than cat's paw.

Which is why I hate cats and throw stones at them.

Indigenous wild-life rules OK.

You eat bats and throw rocks at cats.

Are your comments intended to provoke an angry reaction, or do you really have an inability to co-exist with animals?

Bats are an important natural form of insect control and more efficient than pesticides, but don't let that interfere with your gastronomic adventures.

You remain predictable though.

He could combine the two. If you throw a small pebble in the vicinity of a bat in flight it will echo-locate it and chase it thinking it is food.

[KarenBravo]

And one which was slightly slower than cat's paw.

Which is why I hate cats and throw stones at them.

Indigenous wild-life rules OK.

You eat bats and throw rocks at cats.

Are your comments intended to provoke an angry reaction, or do you really have an inability to co-exist with animals?

Bats are an important natural form of insect control and more efficient than pesticides, but don't let that interfere with your gastronomic adventures.

You remain predictable though.

I had to eat the bat as to refuse it would have been a gross discourtesy.

I have no problem with dogs and other domestic pets, The reason I throw stones at cats is because they take such a heavy toll on the local wild-life.

As you can see, they killed the bat that you are berating me about.

Cats are killing machines that don't stop after they've eaten their fill.

Skinks, frogs and toads are easy targets and their are fewer sightings of them when a cat moves in.

Have seen some of their handiwork left in the driveway.

[Guest]

Just saw this one. What we see depends of our perception to it.

[MissChris]

oilinki

can you PM that to me please?

[Guest]

oilinki

can you PM that to me please?

To save the image to your computer, you can right click the image and then select: Save as.