Bats have always gotten a bad "Flap" very similar to that of the wolf. what is important to know is that it could not be farther from the truth. Like the Wolf, Which if removed from an ecosystem, will cause a ripple effect that is devastating to all other species both plant and animal. So too with the Bat. The bat functions as one of Mother Natures regulators. Not only do they keep insect populations(like mosquitoes and crop eating beetles) in check but the fruit bat also pollinates(In same fashion as a Bee) 95% of all sprouts in the rain forest. One bat can consume 600 to 1000 mosquitoes per hour while feeding. This is very important and as tropical climates expand, due to climate change, so will the breeding habitat for mosquitoes. More wetlands, More mosquitoes, more mosquitoes, means more water borne Illnesses.( Malaria, Typhoid,Westnile,Avain Bird flue, to list just a few.)..... The problem here is The future many bats now face. 6 of the 45 species of bats in the US have all ready disappeared and many more sit on the endangered species list. The remaining group is considered threatened. Pesticides and habitat destruction are the leading cause. Like the Wolf and the Shark they have been demonized with no just cause. I guess its no different than Racism is in our world. The fear of the unknown? Its apparent that if we fear "it" "it " should begin to fear us because that fear we have will lead to your "its" extermination. In the last one hundred years there have only been 5 documented deaths do to wolves, yet today many still fear them. Odd fact is mans best friend is the direct descendant of the wolf. I must once again "Illuminate" there are on the average 11 shark attacks world wide causing an average of 5 deaths.... yet we slaughter over 100 MILLION -yes 100,000,000 every year. Most just for their fins. You can thank China for that one too. With every lose of a species we cut a strand to the "Web of Life" that supports our very existence.