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Article: Going batty over bats.(THE HOME FORUM)
- Article from:
- The Christian Science Monitor
- Article date:
- October 31, 2006
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 The Christian Science Publishing Society. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Nancy Thompson
As I walked up to part of the Africa exhibit at the Oregon Zoo, in Portland, a pair of big brown eyes gazed curiously into mine. They were looking at me upside down; the sleek-furred creature with a foxlike face was hanging by its back feet. It was one of the world's most abundant mammals: bats.
The exhibit contained numerous tree branches, and green mesh spanned its ceiling. Three species of fruit bats hung from the branches and the mesh: a straw-colored bat, an Egyptian bat, and an endangered Rodrigues bat.
"They look just like animals," a woman said as she watched the bats, too. Many of them walked upside down on all ...