Mouse in a Million

Presenting (insert drum roll here)....

Prudence Dapperling's "Mouse in a Million" Big Cheese Blog!

That's right. I'm a mouse. This is me, Prudence Dapperling.

Why "Mouse in a Million"? Because, of the umpty bazillion mice in the world, I bet I'm one of the very few with a blog.

So, if I'm a mouse, why have I been going on and on about bats? I'd never given them much thought before. Didn't even like them really. Always thought they were kind of scary.

Then I learned the truth: A bat saved the life of someone very important to me. Essential even. Without her, I wouldn't be here. Neither would my family. I've mentioned her before. Her name is Gabriella Caprella.

Her story is called Darklings.

So concludes my tribute to the winged saviors of yours truly. I hope I've done them justice.

Next up: Heavenly nibbles

And the Good

Whew! Now that we've gotten that behind us, let's explore the good things about bats.

For starters, bats are the most numerous mammals on earth, comprising (as I've mentioned) over 900 species. They can be found in just about every place on earth (except for the North and South Poles and other really cold spots), and are considered exalted creatures in a number of human cultures.

The scientific name for bats is Chiroptera, which means "hand wing," referring to the structure of the bat's wings... long "fingers" with skin stretched between them.

Bats are further divided into two sub-orders: Microchiroptera and Megachiroptera.

The Micros are relatively small guys, who, with a few chilling exceptions

The frog-eating bat. It really isn't easy being green, is it?

...prefer a diet of crawling and flying things, such as centipedes, cicadas, spiders, mosquitos, flies, June bugs, etc. I don't know about you, but I like that in a bat. Any critter who reduces the creepy, crawly, buzzy, pesky legions that plague us all is top hole with me! And these lads can be very appealing.

The greater mouse-eared bat. What a charmer!

The big brown bat. Just look at that smile!

Megas are the biggies of the bat kingdom. So big, in fact, they're often called "flying foxes." Some, like the golden crowned flying fox

Riveting!

...can have wingspans up to 5 feet 7 inches. (More like a flying terrier, I'd say!) Anyway, these fellows really dig fruit, eating mass quantities of the stuff, spreading seeds all over the place in their droppings, and pollinating all sorts of fruit trees and shrubberies. All this eating, spreading, and pollinating make the Megas very important to the ecology of their habitats. And they're quite handsome critters with lots of personality.

What's not to like, right?

Next up: The Mouse in a Million says "farewell"

The Bad and the Ugly

OK. Let's be honest. Not all bats are nice. (Remember: I said I'd share the mostly good news about bats. Well, here's the "not so good" news.)

I say, let's get it out of the way right off the bat (no pun intended) so we can concentrate on the good stuff. Dessert is always sweeter once you've endured the boiled veg... that sort of thing.

So here goes...

False vampires

Yikes!!!

Need I say more? Probably not, but I will anyway.

This is the critter that comes to mind when I think "Bad bat!" This particular species of unpleasant chap can be found in the Americas (i.e., southern Mexico, Central America, Peru, Ecuador, northern Brazil, Suriname, Guyana, and Trinidad).

False vampires are the largest bats in the Americas and the largest carnivorous bats in the world. With a wingspan that usually ranges from 24 to 36 inches (and up to 39 inches in the largest of the species) and a body size of 4.9-5.3 inches, these guys are monsters!

...with a face only a mother could love. Ugh!

In addition to sluicing down my kind with alacrity (gulp!), they hunt birds, frogs, reptiles, and even other bats! In a pinch, they'll make due with insects too (e.g., locusts, cicadas, etc.), like regular, non-friend-and-relative eating bats. 

But, in the spirit of fairness and full disclosure, I must say that false vampires are not all bad. For example, they have a strong sense of family. Males and females often mate for life and share in the upbringing of their (usually) single-pup litter every mating season. 

Now, if they could just lose that habit of eating rodents...

Arrrrgh!

Bats

Believe it or not, although of a different order, we rodents really have a lot in common with bats.

1) We share the same secret, mysterious nighty-night world, working, playing, eating, etc., while other critters sleep.

2) We're both cute and furry.

OK. Perhaps not always cute, but certainly furry.









3) We like a lot of the same things:

Yummy chow...

Cooling drinks...

A little boogie fever for laughs...

And just hanging out.

4) We are both so misunderstood! In fact, the press about us down through the ages has been quite outrageous.

Bats especially have gotten a bad rap.

They've been smeared by legends of blood sucking, sorcery, disease spreading, property damage, pet snatching, and dive-bombing ladies with big hair-dos.

I confess that such misunderstanding has even existed between bats and rodents. I myself once had an aversion to these winged fellows of the night.

But I've learned. Based on my reading of that delightful work Darklings, by my good friend and colleague C. D. Davis, I now consider myself enlightened regarding the admirable qualities of bats.

In the coming weeks, I'll make it my mission to share the (mostly) good news about a few of the 900+ species of bats from around the world.

Please stay tuned. And embrace the bat!

Darklings

As promised, Darklings is now available on Amazon in paperback!

So, who or what are darklings? Anyone who goes about his or her business in the hours of darkness between dusk and dawn, and sleeps during the day. Rodents, bats, etc. We are all creatures of the night.

Darklings is the captivating and very cool story of two such creatures: Gabriella Caprella Contessa d'Asiago and Prince Mercurio of Venice.

How do I know? Because I've read it myself... and give it 2-claws-way-up for fun, suspense, and hilarity.

Order your copy now by clicking here!