Scary stuff

[kirmit77]

So last night me and my friend were driving around this neighbor hood because my friends dads company truck got stolen a week ago and someone called in that they found it. So at 10:30 im driving around in my jeep with all my spotlights on and hand spotlights when out of nowhere a BAT flew into my arm!! SCARY STUFF!!! I had a friend of mine die about 4 years ago from rabies. It was a national news thing.... ANYWAYS, I didnt know where it was so I stopped the car REALLY FAST and jumped out. As I was jumping and flipping out, my friends dad says "its on your back!".... I thought he was kidding for a sec cause he was laughing.... he wasnt kidding.. The bat had hit my arm, done some crazy batman move and LATCHED onto my left shoulder!!! So then I did some kind of epileptic seizure type deal and went CRAZY! Finally it fell off and I was jumping and shivering and going crazy and some dude comes out side to see whats going on and starts laughing at me (this was very traumatic)

So the next morning I told my boss which is friends with my mom and my grandma and the rest of the whole god forsaken area and I start getting calls left and right seeing if I was ok and if I had rabies and was I going to die and what not.

Went back to the scene of the freak accident and scooped up what was left of a bat ( you know when you hit a brick wall like me its hard to recover)
and sent it off for testing.

Hopefully I do not have rabies... hopefully


Oh and for those of you who have been checking up on the bike progress.... this has been a slight setback for the startup and thats my excuse.

Hope yall get a good laugh, cause I know every person I talked to today did... even all the Dr.s and County Health dept

[CatatonicBug]

Funny, but I would have had the exact OPPOSITE reaction you did! I think bats are so cute! I would LOVE to have one come that close to me. I've always wanted a pet fruit bat, though I wouldn't have the patience to deal with it, I'm sure.

I would have taken it home in a shoebox, just to see it for the next day or so, then sent it on it's way. Poor bat... You didn't have to kill it...

[kirmit77]

hey the thing ran into my arm like a idiot. I didnt kill it. They take care of the mosquitos around here so I like them when they do that... but no touchy

[b.walker5]

......I think bats are so cute! I would LOVE to have one come that close to me. I've always wanted a pet fruit bat, ........

.. your kidding, right... You'd make friends with a flying rodent, worse... a BLIND, flying rodent...

I walked through a park on the Gold Coast of Oz one day a few years back and there was thousands of the suckers hanging from the trees, big as pigeons, crapping everywhere. Couldnt get outta there fast enough. Apparently they show up there for their summer holiday every year.

I'm with you Kirmit, look but dont touch, or come within reach of my 12 guage.

[cueball]

Moving targets

Those fruit bats can bite and they also carry nasty diseases. Woman in North Queensland died last year (I think) from being bitten. Good practice for moving targets

[Crazcnuk]

Lol, people still think bats are blind?

They have better eyesight than most people. They only need sonar because they can fly faster than thier headlights!

I used to have a cat that would bring bats home to play with.

[b.walker5]

Lol, people still think bats are blind?

They have better eyesight than most people......

I used to have a cat that would bring bats home to play with.

Never going to get close enough to one to find out. and I think I like your cat

[Wildkat]

So there we go... your new nickname...
Batman


CBug... yep... they are cute... but kirmit's right... If the thing bit him, rabies is a very valid concern... and if it hit him while he was moving... it's chances of survival (if the impact hadn't killed him) were probably minimal...

[oseaghdha]

[Trainzz]

Just Curious...............

Kirmit and a bat collision...................nah, never mind, too easy.

[madmax-im]

Bats have Radar so how in the heck did it hit you? It must not have healthy to start with...they are quite skilled at navigating by echo location so its surprising to hear it didnt avoid you...Glad you are ok...it may be funny in retrospect but I share your genuine concern and fears...I would react the same way most likely

[kirmit77]

Zach Jones

here is the link to my friend that died a couple years back.... pretty serious stuff


http://www.click2houston.com/health/9205122/detail.html

[madmax-im]

My condolences to you and his family as well.

[CatatonicBug]

CBug... yep... they are cute... but kirmit's right... If the thing bit him, rabies is a very valid concern... and if it hit him while he was moving... it's chances of survival (if the impact hadn't killed him) were probably minimal...

I guess I didn't think about the impact as being the cause of death. I read his post to read that he slammed it into a brick wall... I have written SEVERAL papers about vampire bats, and bats in general, all through my educational career - even into college as a public speaking exercise. I am just facinated by them, and I'm no more afraid of them than I'm afraid of a garter snake in the garden. Yes, rabies is a nasty disease, but not ALL bats carry it. It's about as common in bats as it is in ferral dogs. You would definitely know you had been bitten, and if treated early, rabies is completely curable (albeit painful and tedious).

I dunno... I just think bats are completely misunderstood (heck, some people still think they are blind!), and deserve to be respected as valuable members of the animal kingdom. Other than the occasional disease, they do nothing to harm humans or our homes or living areas, they stick to themselves, usually coming out at night when we don't have to deal with them, and they eat TONS of nasty bugs! I would much rather have bats around than squirrels!

[Wildkat]

IYes, rabies is a nasty disease, but not ALL bats carry it. It's about as common in bats as it is in ferral dogs. You would definitely know you had been bitten, and if treated early, rabies is completely curable (albeit painful and tedious).

Nope... not ALL bats carry it... and not ALL bats bite people... but this one did and every precaution should be taken... just in case it might have been one of the rare cases that actually carried rabies...

I don't think anyone is arguing the point that bats are, indeed, valuable members of the animal kingdom... Personally, I have an affinity for them myself... I completely dislike bugs and especially those that bite...