Lake WahWashKesh Conservation Association Spring 2018
Bat Citizens: Defending the Ninjas of the Night
Rob Laidlaw, Pajama Press, 2018, 48 pages
ISBN: 9781772780390, ages 8+
Bats have it tough right now. Not only are they suffering from habitat loss, but the disease white-nose syndrome (WNS) is wiping out entire bat populations. To help these important and fascinating animals we need to learn more about them and Rob Laidlaw’s book Bat Citizen’s: Defending the Ninjas of the Night provides lots of interesting information.
The book begins with a look at bats and then covers “bat biology.” The chapter on “Bats for a Healthy World” provides information on some of the many benefits the small, flying mammals provide including controlling insect populations and pollinating plants. Laidlaw then covers many challenges facing bats – everything from WNS to humans to turbines – along with potential solutions to these problems.
There is also a section on “Being a Friend to Bats” including humanely removing, and excluding, them from buildings as well as creating bat-friendly gardens. Complementing the interesting text are numerous colour photographs, a centre-gatefold bat illustration and a poster. Numerous features of “Bat Citizens” (young people working to protect bats) along with sidebars and a glossary also help to make Bat Citizens an excellent book aimed at helping these incredible, vital and often misunderstood mammals.
Review by N. Glenn Perrett.
