Bat Woman is a Super Hero!

For 30 years Kris Mashburn has made bats seem cute and cuddly to anyone who would listen.  “My love affair started simply when visiting Zion National Park and hearing the ranger state that bats are the most hated animal alive,” she explained to an attentive audience of Ventura Sierra Club members and supporters, “I just wanted to find out why and have never looked back.”

Fascinating photos and anecdotes followed during the hour long program.  She said bats don’t flap wings like a bird, they swim through the air, which means they can travel backwards and upside down.   You know they eat crickets, but they also sound like a cricket in communicating.  One baby is born to a mother only 1 time a year, and the females live together in big groups sharing childcare.  How do they find their own kid?  (Try finding your own kid in a big group of hundreds!).  The moms find their kid by its voice.  If a mom does not return any morning to the colony, another mom will adopt it.  No bat goes orphaned.  Hardly ever.

The highlight of the program?  Kris brought a little cute and cuddly bat to show everyone.  It was no bigger than 1/3 of her palm curled up and hiding its face scared of us.  Absolutely charmed us!

THANK you to Rachel E. our program chair for bringing out wonderful evening programs every other month about local adventures and special things that are found right here in Ventura County.