What If Everything We Believe About Bats Is Untrue?
What we don't know can save us.
According to Halloween tradition, bats are spooky demonic blood-sucking vampires, but what if bats are actually more like angels in disguise?
Before you write me off as batty, I have it on good authority from biologists who have studied bats for years that these flying mammals carry secrets of health and longevity. Ironic as it may seem, given that Covid originated with bats, scientists say cracking their secret to exceptional immunity to disease would open the door to discovering a cure for COVID-19.
My curiosity about bats was first aroused when I watched the NOVA documentary, "Bat Superpowers.” This opened up many questions in my mind, which, finally, after cutting through thorns and thistles of old myths, media sensationalism, and disinformation from politicians bent on distracting us from understanding underlying causes, led me to some intriguing insights.
SARS-COVID origin: While it’s true that COVID-19 originated with bats, they did not directly transmit the virus to humans but through animal intermediaries. This is known as. “zoonotic transmission.” Contrary to what some would have us believe, there is no evidence of “gain of function” creation of COVID-19 in Wuhan Bio Labs. All the evidence points to human consumption of infected animals.
Climate change: Recent studies suggest Human-caused climate change "may have played a key role" in the coronavirus pandemic. Read about it here, and here.
Our ecosystem: From pollination of food sources to eating thousands of disease-spreading insects (each bat eats up to 3,000 insects a night), to the preservation of rainforests, bats play a monumental role in the health of our ecosystem. Read about it here.
One of the most striking aspects of bats is their super immunity to viruses. They can carry hundreds of viruses without becoming ill. Anti-vaxxers are prone to say “I trust my natural immune system” to fight off Covid. Little do they know it’s our immune system that kills in late-stage Covid. Called “cytokine storm,” this is an exaggerated immune response that inflames the body, affecting main organs, beginning with the lungs. Bat wings are a natural cooling system that prevents inflamation.
Global warming, pollution, industrial farming, and covid are largely treated as separate subjects. We would have to adjust our thinking to see they are all interrelated. Bats are not to blame for what ails our planet. Oh horror of horrors, the blame falls on us for what we’ve done to all living species, and the environment upon which all life depends. If we can face that reality we might even begin to see bats as angels opening a gateway to a better world. All we have to do is choose to walk through it.
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Despite their less attractive appearance, these animals, which seem to be flying animals, hold some potential for fighting off diseases and viruses, as suggested by this article. Their impact may benefit people in general by combating viruses
Excellent essay. A good reminder of the fact that we are part of a macro-eco system that includes our planet and perhaps the galaxy. How we respect all living things on the planet directly relates to our well-being and our survival.