Bats

Matthew estimates that up to 100 bats live in our attic. He heard them first, twittering around as we lay in bed; but I was never able to. 

(He has super-sonic senses. That is why he's such a good birder and is our family food inspector, sniffing out leftovers gone bad. It's why he couldn't stand the feel of a toe line on his socks as a child, and why he still doesn't like the feel of wool on his skin. In comparison, I'm like a Easter Island head shuffling around the house, throwing out lines like, "Smell? I don't smell anything." When he points at birds, I'm lucky if I can see the tree he's referring to, much less the little brown warbler camouflaged in its leaves.)

His suspicion about the bats was later confirmed when we took a walk at dusk. Walking down the lane, we were dramatically stopped in our tracks at the sight of hundreds of bats leaving our neighbors' attics, in wave after wave. One time, we even witnessed a raptor hunting them from a nearby tree, swooping down and grabbing them mid-flight. That I could see. The kids still talk about it. 

Then, a few months later, he opened the access door and popped his head up into our attic to wire a shower heater. There they were: sleeping upside-down, tidily packed together, pooping all over our attic. He descended and grabbed a respirator. 

We're not concerned about this close cohabitation because the barrier between the attic and our living space is tightly secure, we sleep beneath mosquito nets, and furthermore, the bats protect us from malaria by eating mosquitoes (and we need all the help we can get in that regard). But we did give our kids a stern talking-to, that they are never, ever, ever to touch any bats, dead or alive, not once, not even a little bit, because otherwise they could DIE. 

We are all vaccinated against rabies, so death is actually not likely; but I'm also reading a book about the possible origins of the Ebola virus and - long story short - it could be from fruit bats living in caves in Congo. So let's just categorize bats as entirely off-limits.

I don't think bats are doing well in Malawi generally, due to deforestation and monocropping. But at least in our little neck of the woods, they seem to be alright. The much-greater prevalence of insects here - in all their amazing variety - was something we noticed right away. That's not the case in so many other places, unfortunately. Things like white-nose syndrome and the Insect Apocalypse aren't doing bats any favors, globally.  

I'm home sick today, the kids are at school, and Matthew is at work. I set up a mattress on the floor of our living room. When I pause Jurassic World: Dominion to get a snack, it's very quiet. All our animals - the goats, dogs, and chickens - are resting in the shade out in the yard, lazy and still. Though I can't hear our bats, I know they are up there, just above me, just like me, just taking a daytime rest.

Geoffrey's horsehoe bat. Wikipedia says they live here.