today's bat

bats are the cutest animals. inspired by todaysbird icon by firlalaith

[todaysbat]

FYI: don't be afraid to send me an ask if you have any questions

Broken link? Let me know!

Icon and Banner by @firlalaith

All images used in posts belong to their respective copyright holders. Images do not belong to me unless otherwise stated and are used here for educational purposes only.

last updated: june 6, 2026

Found an injured bat? Check this post: https://todaysbat.tumblr.com/post/676387755780128768/bat-rescue-and-rehabilitatiors-list

More links of interest below read more

Bat Conservation Organizations:

Bat Conservation International - https://www.batcon.org/

Bat World Sanctuary - https://batworld.org/

The London Bat Group - https://londonbats.org.uk/

Merlin Tuttle's Bat Conservation: https://www.merlintuttle.org/

Bat Conservation Trust: https://www.bats.org.uk/

Spanish Association for the Conservation and Research of Bats (SECMU): https://secemu.org/

Wikipedia list of Bat conservation and research organizations by region: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_bat_conservation_and_research_groups

Bat-focused Governmental Organizations:

White Nose Syndrome Response Team (US Fish and Wildlife Service): https://www.whitenosesyndrome.org/

Posts of Interest:

Bats and Rabies - https://todaysbat.tumblr.com/post/652073859828318208/vampire-bats-are-cute-but-his-bite-is-dangerous-or

White Nose Syndrome - https://todaysbat.tumblr.com/post/665858917730041856/white-nose-syndrome

How you can help bats: https://todaysbat.tumblr.com/post/680464293736660992/how-you-can-help-bats

Zoos with Bats: https://todaysbat.tumblr.com/post/722403011940532224/zoos-you-can-see-bats-at

Bat Hall of Fame: https://todaysbat.tumblr.com/post/737436825928482816/

Palm Oil: https://todaysbat.tumblr.com/post/741593916523069440/palm-oil

The Three R's: https://www.tumblr.com/todaysbat/818683108163485697/the-three-rs-reduce-reuse-and-recycling

[rebeccathenaturalist]

The Guts of Predatory Cats Can Destroy CWD Prions

The prions that cause chronic wasting disease in deer are nearly indestructible. So it's good news to learn cat guts are their mortal enemy.

Okay. So. You know how some people want to finish exterminating all large predatory mammals so they have less competition for deer and so they don't occasionally lose livestock? And you know how native deer species in North America have been hit increasingly hard with Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in the past couple of decades due to overpopulation thanks to the eradication of large predatory mammals that normally keep them in check?

We already have evidence that reintroducing predatory mammals to their native ranges not only knocks deer populations back to a healthier level, and now we've discovered that apparently the digestive systems of cougars and bobcats are lethal to CWD prions. Prions are among the most difficult pathogens* to eliminate; you have to heat them up to about 1,800 degrees F in order to thoroughly destroy them. And prion diseases like CWD are almost universally fatal.

So to find that these wild cats can safely eat CWD-infected animals AND significantly reduce the chances that the prions will be spread to other deer is a pretty big deal, especially since some other animals like coyotes and crows do pass prions undamaged through their digestive systems. And it's just one more example of why an ecosystem needs all of the species that have evolved in it over thousands of years, not just those are convenient for humans to have around. The spread of CWD is directly related to the overpopulation of deer, and it's likely that continuing to reintroduce large predatory mammals to their native range will help quell this awful prion disease.

[todaysbat]

The Three R's: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycling

Before I explain what they are, let's talk about the symbol associated with them, three arrows (usually green) in a triangle.

It represents an unending flow chart, symbolizing the continous flow of the process between each step, as intended, in a specific order. The symbols represents all the three steps, despite its main meaning nowadays being recycling. But enough about the symbol, let's get into the next topic: what materials these apply to.

The Three R's aren't just about plastic, it's about wood, cardboard, metal, anything and everything. The Three R's are a guide for using resources wisely in general. That said, I am going to talk about plastic a lot in the post because it's a particular hot button topic. Okay, now let's get into the three R's, in the order they are intended to be done in--which is when they are the most effective.

Reduce where you can. This looks different depending on who you are and what your needs are. Single use plastic exists for a reason, and in certain contexts, it is the better option. Harassing people for using single use plastic is not reducing the usage of single use plastic. Saying that only disabled (enough) people can use single use plastic is not reducing single use plastic either. Reducing single use plastic is looking at your own usage of single use plastic and seeing what you can use less of--and doing it over time, not all at once. It also means petitioning companies to use more sustainable packaging (not just less plastic), big farms to use water more efficiently. Or a zillion other things, on individual and community and commerical levels, I could go on all day with ideas for you to consider.

Once you've reduced all you can for the moment, it's time for the best step of all--reuse. Ask yourself, can I use this to fill a need I already have? Or make art? Or do both in one go? Does this old shirt really need to go to the thrift store or can I cut it up and use it as rags to clean my home? Real life example: the cloth diapers my parents bought when I was a baby (I was allergic to the disposable ones) got reused as rags once I grew out of diapers--and still are getting used as rags to this day, decades later.

If you have kids, reusing yogurt cups and toilet paper tubes for art projects is a great idea. Another fun project is making your own paper out of old paper that you'd otherwise throw away (I'm sure there's directions online for doing this). Glass (and plastic) jars can be reused for storage. Plastic silverware may have to be washed by hand, but it can be reused many times over.

Just like how there's zillions of ideas for reducing, there's zillions of ideas for reusing too. Unfortunately, there comes a point when a thing can no longer be reused--or is unable to reused at all (such as the single use plastics used in medicine), and so we come to the next step--recycling.

This step is something that can't be done by the average person beyond putting the recycling out to be collected. This is one reason why it is the third step. Another is the cost. It is the more expensive to recycle (in more ways than just money) than it is to reduce and reuse. This cost is a contributing factor to why companies greenwash (pretend they're using environmentally friendly practices to make consumers feel good about their product) and come up with schemes to shuffle around responsibility for the waste they produce.

When I learned all this in the mid to late 90s in elementary school, recycling was presented as the option of last resort, that recycling some materials (cardboard, glass) was signifigantly easier than others (plastics). Going by some of what I've seen online in the past five years or so, it seems that this knowledge dropped from public knowledge at some point in the 2000s, and now people are rediscovering that recycling is not supposed to be the first choice in dealing with (plastic) waste for a reason.

sources: my memory, I originally wrote this without any access to the internet in a notebook. once I did get internet, I went looking around for resources for reducing and reusing that I've linked below. It's not an exhaustive list, but it should get you started.

further reading:

68 Ways to Reuse Old Prescription Medicine Bottles

68 Ways to Reuse Old Prescription Medicine Bottles: Let's hear it for better living through pharmaceuticals. Prescriptions, I mean. There ar

As of when I posted this June 6, 2026, this page on the US EPA website was still up and functional:

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Resources for Students and Educators | US EPA

Educational materials and reducing, reusing, and recycling for students, educators and parents, including games, publications, and activitie

11 Unusual Uses for Diapers

11 Unusual Uses for Diapers: Disposable diapers are a hotly-debated product among infants and toddlers alike. Some object to them on ecologi

Actually, I'm just going to recommend the entire Instructables website for ideas for reusing things because they seem to have some pretty good ideas.

[todaysbat]

For anyone wondering about the maturity flag, I've noticed that tumblr has a tendency to get freaky about posts I make with photos and/or links, regardless of what is in the photos and links.

I've already reported the error, and it should eventually get fixed.

[todaysbat]

For the Nashville zoo data center: I've said it in a reblog and reply but just in case people missed it or didnt know...

I live in the Nashville area. I've been to the zoo. The place they're wanting to build that is "directly adjacent "? The location is the ZOO PARKING LOT. The lot itself isn't that big to begin with. Like theres a lot of parking but the space is more long than it is vast. They want to build in the zoo parking lot right next to the zoo.

This is NOT across the street or down the block. It is on the same property space RIGHT beside it

The article mentions the proximity, but it doesn't mention it impacting parking that I remember, so I really appreciate the addition here.

[goddamnshinyrock]

It’s FLEDGLING BIRD SEASON here in North America…

…which means it’s time for an annual reminder not to kidnap baby birds. Fact: most species of birds have almost no sense of smell. Someone probably told you that if you touch a baby bird, the mother will smell you on it and reject her baby. THAT IS NOT THE CASE. If you’ve found a baby bird and you touched it, all is not lost, you can still return it to mom and dad!

Pictured: a young Mourning Dove, after being rescued from the tender mercies of my dog, circa spring 2005. It’s a fledgling! Note how it has most of its feathers, but still looks a bit awkward and scruffy, and, being unable to properly fly, can be caught by an elderly husky or a child. 

Help, I found a baby bird on the ground, what do I do???

Hatchlings/Nestlings: IF it is naked or covered in fluffy down and/or pinfeathers and cannot flutter successfully, it’s a hatchling or nestling, and has fallen from its nest prematurely. Look for the nest- if you find it and can reach it, return baby and then leave and let the parents return. If you can’t find the nest, or if you find it in pieces on the ground, use a small box/yogurt container lined with dried grass and attach as close as possible to where you found the bird or where you think the nest was. If it’s cold, warm it in your hands for a few minutes before putting it back. RETURN BABY!!!! 

Fledglings: If you spot a young bird covered with feathers (may have a few patches of fluff) on the ground, it’s a fledgling (bird tween) who is currently working on flying 101 homework, which is normal and fine. Hanging out on the ground is part of the learning to fly process! If it looks like it’s in immediate danger (i.e. of being run over, stepped on, or eaten by a cat or dog), the best thing you can do for it is to gently scoop it up and place it in the low branches of a nearby tree or shrub, and then LEAVE. The parents are likely nearby watching, and will return once the coast is clear. If it flutter-hops away from you and you can’t catch it, then don’t worry! It just successfully avoided a predator (you), and therefore can probably continue to do so. LEAVE BABY ALONE!!!

DO NOT: Try to feed it, bring it into your house or car, or take it to your local domestic animal vet or shelter. 

IF it IS actually for-real injured (bleeding, broken limb, attacked by cat, struck window), you can catch it, put it in a dark cardboard box (with NO food or water, young birds can aspirate easily) and contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitation professional, but keep in mind that they get a LOT of fledgling birds, and those birds have a pretty high mortality rate. They may tell you that there is nothing you or they can do but allow nature to take its course, and that’s hard, but important to hear and respect.

[official-ornithology-posts]

Important PSA!!!!!

[muttsandmustelidae]

From the Nashville Zoo’s fb page! Here’s the petition, please please please take a moment to add your name (even if you’re not from Nashville!). If you are from Tennessee, contact your representatives and make it clear that the people do not want this data center. This is an AZA accredited zoo which is home to several species of critically endangered animals, we NEED to protect it. Make your voice heard!

[muttsandmustelidae]

Because people will pay attention to cute animals, here are some of the critically endangered/endangered species housed at the Nashville Zoo!

The Amur Leopard and Clouded Leopard (which recently celebrated its 50th cub born at the zoo!)

The Sumatran Tiger

The Red Ruffed Lemur and Ring-Tailed Lemur

The Cotton-Top Tamarin and White-Cheeked Gibbon

The Colobus Monkey and De Brazza’s Monkey

And the Mexican Spider Monkey!

Look at them!!!! Look at them and fight like hell to save them!!!!

[themightywolftiger]

Adding my own images of Nashville Zoo to this. It’s super important to stand, fight, and continue to spread awareness on this.

There’s so many other great animals at this zoo, and it's done so much in teaching people about animals and conservation.

[todaysbat]

Other animals includes bats, btw.

Nashville Zoo fights potential data center, developer addresses concerns raised

Developers are seeking to turn land into a 69,000-square-foot data center next to the Nashville zoo.

Tennessee is home to dozens of data centers, why a new one faces pushback

Amid a growing number of data centers in Tennessee, the Nashville Zoo is pushing back against a proposed facility near its property, citing

Developer claiming they'll follow government regs when the EPA is openly rolling back regulations.....

[sunrisetune]

For context: the petition opened on June 4th 2026 Both news articles were published on June 5th, 2026

[todaysbat]

Thanks, I completely forgot to include that information (that's what i get for trying to post after my bedtime i guess)

[todaysbat]

The Three R's: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycling

Before I explain what they are, let's talk about the symbol associated with them, three arrows (usually green) in a triangle.

It represents an unending flow chart, symbolizing the continous flow of the process between each step, as intended, in a specific order. The symbols represents all the three steps, despite its main meaning nowadays being recycling. But enough about the symbol, let's get into the next topic: what materials these apply to.

The Three R's aren't just about plastic, it's about wood, cardboard, metal, anything and everything. The Three R's are a guide for using resources wisely in general. That said, I am going to talk about plastic a lot in the post because it's a particular hot button topic. Okay, now let's get into the three R's, in the order they are intended to be done in--which is when they are the most effective.

Reduce where you can. This looks different depending on who you are and what your needs are. Single use plastic exists for a reason, and in certain contexts, it is the better option. Harassing people for using single use plastic is not reducing the usage of single use plastic. Saying that only disabled (enough) people can use single use plastic is not reducing single use plastic either. Reducing single use plastic is looking at your own usage of single use plastic and seeing what you can use less of--and doing it over time, not all at once. It also means petitioning companies to use more sustainable packaging (not just less plastic), big farms to use water more efficiently. Or a zillion other things, on individual and community and commerical levels, I could go on all day with ideas for you to consider.

Once you've reduced all you can for the moment, it's time for the best step of all--reuse. Ask yourself, can I use this to fill a need I already have? Or make art? Or do both in one go? Does this old shirt really need to go to the thrift store or can I cut it up and use it as rags to clean my home? Real life example: the cloth diapers my parents bought when I was a baby (I was allergic to the disposable ones) got reused as rags once I grew out of diapers--and still are getting used as rags to this day, decades later.

If you have kids, reusing yogurt cups and toilet paper tubes for art projects is a great idea. Another fun project is making your own paper out of old paper that you'd otherwise throw away (I'm sure there's directions online for doing this). Glass (and plastic) jars can be reused for storage. Plastic silverware may have to be washed by hand, but it can be reused many times over.

Just like how there's zillions of ideas for reducing, there's zillions of ideas for reusing too. Unfortunately, there comes a point when a thing can no longer be reused--or is unable to reused at all (such as the single use plastics used in medicine), and so we come to the next step--recycling.

This step is something that can't be done by the average person beyond putting the recycling out to be collected. This is one reason why it is the third step. Another is the cost. It is the more expensive to recycle (in more ways than just money) than it is to reduce and reuse. This cost is a contributing factor to why companies greenwash (pretend they're using environmentally friendly practices to make consumers feel good about their product) and come up with schemes to shuffle around responsibility for the waste they produce.

When I learned all this in the mid to late 90s in elementary school, recycling was presented as the option of last resort, that recycling some materials (cardboard, glass) was signifigantly easier than others (plastics). Going by some of what I've seen online in the past five years or so, it seems that this knowledge dropped from public knowledge at some point in the 2000s, and now people are rediscovering that recycling is not supposed to be the first choice in dealing with (plastic) waste for a reason.

sources: my memory, I originally wrote this without any access to the internet in a notebook. once I did get internet, I went looking around for resources for reducing and reusing that I've linked below. It's not an exhaustive list, but it should get you started.

further reading:

68 Ways to Reuse Old Prescription Medicine Bottles

68 Ways to Reuse Old Prescription Medicine Bottles: Let's hear it for better living through pharmaceuticals. Prescriptions, I mean. There ar

As of when I posted this June 6, 2026, this page on the US EPA website was still up and functional:

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Resources for Students and Educators | US EPA

Educational materials and reducing, reusing, and recycling for students, educators and parents, including games, publications, and activitie

11 Unusual Uses for Diapers

11 Unusual Uses for Diapers: Disposable diapers are a hotly-debated product among infants and toddlers alike. Some object to them on ecologi

Actually, I'm just going to recommend the entire Instructables website for ideas for reusing things because they seem to have some pretty good ideas.

[muttsandmustelidae]

From the Nashville Zoo’s fb page! Here’s the petition, please please please take a moment to add your name (even if you’re not from Nashville!). If you are from Tennessee, contact your representatives and make it clear that the people do not want this data center. This is an AZA accredited zoo which is home to several species of critically endangered animals, we NEED to protect it. Make your voice heard!

[muttsandmustelidae]

Because people will pay attention to cute animals, here are some of the critically endangered/endangered species housed at the Nashville Zoo!

The Amur Leopard and Clouded Leopard (which recently celebrated its 50th cub born at the zoo!)

The Sumatran Tiger

The Red Ruffed Lemur and Ring-Tailed Lemur

The Cotton-Top Tamarin and White-Cheeked Gibbon

The Colobus Monkey and De Brazza’s Monkey

And the Mexican Spider Monkey!

Look at them!!!! Look at them and fight like hell to save them!!!!

[themightywolftiger]

Adding my own images of Nashville Zoo to this. It’s super important to stand, fight, and continue to spread awareness on this.

There’s so many other great animals at this zoo, and it's done so much in teaching people about animals and conservation.

[todaysbat]

Other animals includes bats, btw.

Nashville Zoo fights potential data center, developer addresses concerns raised

Developers are seeking to turn land into a 69,000-square-foot data center next to the Nashville zoo.

Tennessee is home to dozens of data centers, why a new one faces pushback

Amid a growing number of data centers in Tennessee, the Nashville Zoo is pushing back against a proposed facility near its property, citing

Developer claiming they'll follow government regs when the EPA is openly rolling back regulations.....

[sunrisetune]

For context: the petition opened on June 4th 2026 Both news articles were published on June 5th, 2026

[todaysbat]

Thanks, I completely forgot to include that information (that's what i get for trying to post after my bedtime i guess)

[muttsandmustelidae]

From the Nashville Zoo’s fb page! Here’s the petition, please please please take a moment to add your name (even if you’re not from Nashville!). If you are from Tennessee, contact your representatives and make it clear that the people do not want this data center. This is an AZA accredited zoo which is home to several species of critically endangered animals, we NEED to protect it. Make your voice heard!

[muttsandmustelidae]

Because people will pay attention to cute animals, here are some of the critically endangered/endangered species housed at the Nashville Zoo!

The Amur Leopard and Clouded Leopard (which recently celebrated its 50th cub born at the zoo!)

The Sumatran Tiger

The Red Ruffed Lemur and Ring-Tailed Lemur

The Cotton-Top Tamarin and White-Cheeked Gibbon

The Colobus Monkey and De Brazza’s Monkey

And the Mexican Spider Monkey!

Look at them!!!! Look at them and fight like hell to save them!!!!

[themightywolftiger]

Adding my own images of Nashville Zoo to this. It’s super important to stand, fight, and continue to spread awareness on this.

There’s so many other great animals at this zoo, and it's done so much in teaching people about animals and conservation.

[todaysbat]

Other animals includes bats, btw.

Nashville Zoo fights potential data center, developer addresses concerns raised

Developers are seeking to turn land into a 69,000-square-foot data center next to the Nashville zoo.

Tennessee is home to dozens of data centers, why a new one faces pushback

Amid a growing number of data centers in Tennessee, the Nashville Zoo is pushing back against a proposed facility near its property, citing

Developer claiming they'll follow government regs when the EPA is openly rolling back regulations.....

[todayspace]

Posted june 5, 2026 at 1030 am Eastern Daylight Time

International Space Station astronauts under evacuation orders over air leak

Nasa says Russian crew trying to fix worsening air leak in its portion of orbital laboratory

NASA orders International ‌Space Station astronauts to shelter, prepare for evacuation due to air leak | CBC News

NASA ordered astronauts aboard the International ‌Space Station ​to shelter ​in their spacecraft and prepare ‌for potential evacuation on Fr

[todaysbat]

Update: all good now, they were able to fix the leak

[todaysbat]

What's this is hear about Subnatica 2 having bats????

[toaskello]

[todaysbat]

Pretty much what I'm picturing lol

[todaysbat]

What's this is hear about Subnatica 2 having bats????

[amnhnyc]

Here’s a critter you might not recognize: the ring-tailed vontsira (Galidia elegans)! Found in the forests of Madagascar, this small carnivore weighs up to 2 lbs (0.91 kg) and has a varied diet that includes insects, eggs, fish, and small mammals. The ring-tailed vontsira is an agile critter, an excellent climber, and is known to be playful.

Photo: sympiotr, CC BY-NC 4.0, iNaturalist

[markscherz]

Their diet also includes cured meat and chickens and rubbish. We have to take special measures in the forest to make sure they don’t get into everything, including keeping our chickens in tents at night. They’re like very slender raccoons that have had just a little too big a dose of amphetamines.

[todayspace]

Posted june 5, 2026 at 1030 am Eastern Daylight Time

International Space Station astronauts under evacuation orders over air leak

Nasa says Russian crew trying to fix worsening air leak in its portion of orbital laboratory

NASA orders International ‌Space Station astronauts to shelter, prepare for evacuation due to air leak | CBC News

NASA ordered astronauts aboard the International ‌Space Station ​to shelter ​in their spacecraft and prepare ‌for potential evacuation on Fr

[fangs-4-fags]

my favorite thing about crocodiles is yeah they're fantastic swimmers and yeah they can run pretty fast and yeah the smaller ones can even climb trees but also. they don't wanna do any of that shit. they just go no, no thanks. that's not for me. i think i'll just wait for someone to mistake me for a log and get too close. and then i'll eat them. many reptiles love this strategy but none pull it off like the humble croc

[msburgundy-but-worser-deactivat]

mythbusters was so good because it wasn't a killjoy show. they didn't just say "see, it doesn't work" and leave it there

whenever they find that the stunt doesn't work as portrayed in the movie, they immediately ask "what would it take to make this happen?"

[disclaymore-deactivated20230920]

“we know it takes this amount of explosives to work, but what if we doubled it anyway?”

[oldschoolvillageidiot]

Some myths I'll always remember:

* Are elephants scared of mice? (They only did that because they were in Africa and had access to elephants.)

* Will a bull run amok in a china shop?

* Is it better to run zig-zag or straight when chased by an alligator?

I love these because NONE of them turned out the way they expected. They went into all three with pre-conceived ideas of how it would go, and each time they "failed." Elephants WILL cower from mice. A bull moves very gingerly through a china shop. It doesn't matter how you run because ALLIGATORS WON'T CHASE YOU.

And each time, they reacted with just... pure glee. "Holy shit, we were wrong! Oh my god! This is great! We were so wrong!"

And that, to me, is what science is. Being excited about being wrong because either way it's information.

[fleshdyke]

you cant fucking hurt me bitch im protected by the migratory bird act

[fallenangelvictorious]

Please, I just want to know what your migratory flight path is, I promise I’ll release you after I give you this bracelet that will insanely up your game with the ladies

[fleshdyke]

bitches love me for my bright and colourful leg band