Scarlet bats again

[Richard Muirhead]

Here as promised is the extract from the Manchester City News of March or April 1888 on scarlet bats in Britain:

There is no actual date on the cutting but it is next to three cuttings from those dates mentioned above.


A MYSTERY ABOUT BATS

The torpidity in which bats remain through the winter season in the temperate and colder climates is well known, and in common with other animals undergoing the same suspension of powers they have their histories of long imprisonments. The following curious instances may serve to corroborate each other. A woodman engaged in splitting timber for rail posts in the woods close by the lake of Haming, belonging to Mr Pringle in Selkirkshire, discovered in the centre of a large wild cherry tree a living bat of a bright scarlet colour, which, as soon as it was relieved from its entombment, took to its wings and escaped. The recess in the tree was only just large enough to contain the animal; but all around the wood was perfectly sound, solid and free from any opening through which the atmospheric air could reach the air could reach the bat. A man while occupied in splitting timber near Kelsall, Cheshire, discovered many years ago in the centre of a large pear tree a living bat of a bright scarlet colour, which he foolishly suffered to escape from fear, being fully persuaded that it was not a being of this world. This tree also presented a small cavity in the centre where the bat was enclosed, but was perfectly sound and solid on each side. The scarlet colour of these prisoners is still inexplicable.

[The Woodman]

Well done, Richard, you did well to find that!

Quite inexplicable to this day, I would imagine.

It's difficult to believe that a small mammal could survive encapsulated, but knowing how bats, especially noctules favour the rotted nodal branch holes on the larger stems of wild cherry, I might be tempted to imagine that the access might have been overlooked.

There is at least one similar tale of a toad in similar circumstances in Goldsmith's Animated Nature.

[Farplace]

I cant imagine any mammal surviving for long in those conditions, but be that as it may, I wondered could the bat(s) have taken on the colour of the tree sap? In other words, could the hair have been dyed by the sap?

[The Woodman]

I did wonder about that, Jan, but I'm not aware that Cherry or Pear sap stains. Chhery exudes an gum from wounds. Alder might stain but as the tree species is mentioned, I doubt it, also Alder wouldn't be used for posts. I can't see the tree occluding around a bat so quickly that it becomes imprisoned. The longest a bat would stay in a tree roost cavity would be during hibernation and at that time tree growth has almost stopped.

[Richard Muirhead]

Hi, I expect the staining theory as to the scarlet colour of the bat would fit the cherry tree case, but what about the pear tree?

Unless we have a long lost species of bat here. I have been told of a Chinese scarlet bat.

[thunder]

I think it's now quite clear from this cutting that the stories are deliberate or accidental hoaxes. Perhaps somebody misheard a story and it grew in the telling - Chinese Whispers. But possibly some mischievous countryman wanted to see what outrageous tales he could get a townie to believe!

Same with the tales of entombed Toads - quite clearly not describing correctly an actual occurrence.

henrya

[The Woodman]

What about the Red Bats?

There are two species of this migratory, tree dwelling group in North America - Eastern Red Bat Lasiurus boealis and Western Red Bat Lasiurus blossevilli.

The western has recently been split from the eastern thanks to DNA advances.

We do get the occassional migrant!

[Farplace]

Happy Birthday Richard! Although you have not put your date of birth on your profile, I have ways and means of finding stuff out. Nice pic on the CFZ bloggo by the way!
Jan

[Richard Muirhead]

Ah thanks for those kind birthday wishes! I had a good birthday until a firework passed through my ear drum,into my brain and blew away what little part of my brain is capable of logical thought and I am now seeing pink bats everywhere!

Seriously, I was unaware of those possible bat migrants, but there`s a whole load of reports of entombed toads,etc. They can`t all be hoaxes/misunderstandings surely?

[thunder]

Originally Posted by Richard Muirhead

Seriously, I was unaware of those possible bat migrants, but there`s a whole load of reports of entombed toads,etc. They can`t all be hoaxes/misunderstandings surely?

I think they can! Probably if yiou researched them all thoroughly you'd find that they all derived from one report. But it's a simple fact - Toads cannot survive enclosed in a solid lump of rock, and there is no way they could get in one anyhow!

henrya