In western cultures, bats are considered evil and dangerous; two attributes that are completely false!

Very few people in recent recorded medical history have been harmed by bats. Public health records show that only 16 people in the United States and Canada have died of bat-borne disease in the past 40 years. That means the chances of being harmed by a bat is extremely low. Furthermore, bats are virtually disease free. Less than one-half of one percent of bats contract rabies.

Their evil reputation comes from vampire folklore. There are more than 800 species of bats in the world and only three of those are of the 'vampire bat' category. These types of bats are limited mostly to Latin America. Furthermore, vampire bats don't attack humans; they're very small and generally drink the blood of smaller animals.

The truth is that bats are misunderstood creatures that are generally quite harmless to people. Furthermore, they have no interest in people. Having said that, they do not like to be handled and may bite in self defense.

Using a common sense approach with bats, and you will see them as the gentle valuable creature they really are.