Little Brown Bat
The little brown bat, or Myotis lucifugus, is an endangered species of mouse-eared bat found in North America.
They have glossy fur that ranges in color from reddish brown to almost black. Little brown bats have four-to six-inch wingspans, and females have one pup a year.
They hibernate in large colonies and disperse during spring and summer, often roosting in small family groups in hollow trees, but also in attics and other human-built structures, where they are not always welcome. Feeding in early evening and at night a little brown bat eats its body weight in small insects finding their prey using echolocation.
The average life span is six or seven years, although they may live much longer. They have a few natural predators, except raptors such as owls. Other sources of mortality include diseases such as white-nose syndrome, which has been a significant cause of mortality since 2006, killing over one million little brown bats by 2011. In the Northeastern United States, population loss has been extreme.
What do you love about this particular creature?
What do they reveal to you about God and our faith?
Let’s face it, bats get a bad rap. There’s the Dracula thing, of course; they are strange-looking and they fly at night, all a bit scary. A while ago, one was flying around our bedroom in the middle of the night. I caught it in my gloved hands to release it outdoors, and spoke to it about the importance of staying out of the house. It was a delicate and fragile creature, and once it was caught, it became still and strangely trusting.
I’m always glad to see my first bat of the season, and one appeared this morning. I knew they were back from their winter caves in upstate New York, but except for some scratching and a squeak or two from the space behind our chimney, I had not actually seen one. This one was hiding in our folded patio umbrella.
As with other encounters, I had a talk with it about finding a better place to rest for the day and sent it off with a prayer of thanks. Thanks for eating all those mosquitoes, and thanks for sharing with me a tiny part of our amazing world. It seems to me that it’s easy to see God’s love in the beautiful parts of creation, but understanding comes when we can love the whole of it, not just the parts we like.
Author - Nancy Fishell
Nancy Fishell, artist and retired fine arts teacher, lives in Becket, Massachusetts.
O God, having shown us how far your love goes in saving the lost and forgotten, mercifully grant that we might join you in the work of reuniting with all creatures; through Jesus Christ the Wisdom of Creation, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, now and for ever. Amen.
Creation Collect (Proper 19 Year C) from Season of Creation, A Celebration Guide for Episcopal Parishes