Cool, not creepy! Girl Scouts are promoting bats in D.C.

Although you don't see them very often, there are a lot of bats in the eastern region of the United States. There have been 17 species recorded in Virginia, and Maryland hosts 10, according to the Virginia Department of Wildlilfe Resources and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. Of those, at least eight species frequent the D.C. area in human-made structures, caves, or trees.  Having done some research on the winged mammals, D.C. Girl Scout Troops 44051, 44047, and 44046 realized the bats do way more good than harm and are threatened by a disease (not transferrable to humans) that many people don't know about.

Looking into the little flying creatures, the Girl Scouts found out that many bats are exposed to a disease known as White Nose Syndrome (WNS). WNS is caused by a fungus that attaches itself to hibernating bats and can lead to their death. It is "considered one of the worst wildlife diseases in modern times" and has spawned groups such as the WNS Response Team and the Save Lucy Campaign to battle the disease. In fact, three of the species on the Virginia list are federally endangerd and all 10 types of bats in Maryland are "considered to be species of greatest conservation need."

Speaking with WAMU, Troop Leader Alison Kaufman said, “The Girl Scouts discovered how important bats are to our ecosystem ... Once our Girl Scouts learned about bats, then they of course wanted to know how they could help them."

So, seeing a problem, the Girl Scouts decided to take the issue to the top. They thought that if one of the local bats were elected to be the District's Mammal, that would raise awareness and help to keep the bats safe from harm.

In March of 2019, they made a presentation to Councilman Charles Allen, and in January of this year, Troops 44051, 44047, and 44046 met with a Council Committee to point out the many virtues that bats have to offer, as well as the fact that they are "misunderstood" and "have a bad rap." Just recently, the bill was passed in first vote; it still requires a final vote but that will more than likely pass as well. From there Bill 23-302 will be presented to Mayor Muriel Bowser and then must undergo a 30-day Congressional review because of the Home Rule Act.

  "They can eat up to 1,200 insects an hour. Imagine how much worse D.C. summers would be if we didn’t have bats to eat our mosquitoes." —Mary O’Brien (11 )

Initially, the idea was to propose that the Little Brown Bat be D.C.'s mammal. Sadly, the Girl Scouts discovered that due to WNS, there hasn't been a recorded sighting in D.C. since 2004. To keep the bat-movement going, they shifted gears and chose another D.C. resident and relative— the Big Brown Bat. Other than the 30-day waiting period there is no word on how long it will take for the legislation to pass. But it shouldn't be long before the Big Brown Bat is rubbing elbows with its neighboring State Mammals, the Virginia Big-Eared Bat and Maryland's Calico Cat!

Wait, what?

Oh well, as Meat Loaf would say: "Two out of three ain't bad" (that song is off of the album Bat Out of Hell, by the way).

Creepy or cool? How do you feel about bats? Would you vote for one to be your state or District mammal? Let us know in the comments!