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Article: BAT POPULATION FALLING.(MAIN)
- Article from:
- Albany Times Union (Albany, NY)
- Article date:
- November 27, 1997
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1997 Albany Times Union. 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: JOHN BEIFUSS Scripps Howard
Bats are flying high this year, and not just during their nightly quests for insects, nectar and -- yes, in some parts of the world -- blood.
Suddenly, ``bats are seen as being cool,'' said Dr. Gary McCracken of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, one of the country's leading experts on the winged, furry and often fanged creatures that, amazingly, constitute a fourth of the world's mammal species.
Children are taken with the seemingly scary and mysterious night fliers in much the same way they are attracted to dinosaurs. Adults, meanwhile, are beginning to understand the bat's essential role in ...