You could put the litter box on top of the china cabinet where you don’t have to look at it.
Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trollssays
What will Mary say? That would be my worry. *yes dear*
microraptorsays
Whenever I go to the zoo I try to make sure that I go by the fruit bat exhibit at feeding time.
bonzaikittensays
They are adorable, but pretty much all have lyssavirus and Hendra virus here. Also, they’d crap on everything you love.
gijoelsays
And they stink. Also if you don’t cover your fruiting trees you can pretty much kiss the fruit goodbye.
chigau (ever-elliptical)says
Roberto?
wzrd1says
I’m afraid that we’d be dueling for the figs off of the yard’s fig tree.
Besides, I far prefer bats that eat insects. I really do have to get around to building a nice bat house (and collection system for their droppings, thereby gaining fertilizer for the garden).
I’d likely have to find a vet to care for them, as I’d be worried about white nose syndrome killing off my new friends. We have a lot of mosquitoes around here, with aedes aegypti being annoyingly plentiful.
I hate that species, just because of the all of the pathogens that they share with their victims.
robrosays
We bought a cabin in the Sierra foothills many years ago that had no covering on the windows for years. There was also a large pipe to vent a fire place in the middle of the cabin. Altogether it was an excellent environment for bats. At sundown they would swarm out of the vent pipe and fly around the cabin before going out the windows. At about the same time, the mosquitoes would disappear. My wife loved them in her way. She thought the pups were cute. But, as she said, you can’t house train them, so they had to go. She waited to evict them until late in the summer to avoid harming the babies. They were pretty amazing and their effect on the evening insect population phenomenal.
birgerjohanssonsays
FAIL! Fruit bats are peaceful herbivores. meh.
Vampire bats have the right idea, but the rabies virus makes them messy.
Maybe insectivores… if they are bred to eat carboniferous-size insects!
birgerjohanssonsays
“And they stink. ”
And your point is ? We should call them “flying Republicans” and replace the elephant as a symbol.
Birgerjohansson, consider yourself slapped for even suggesting such a fate for the glorious bat!
I’d say the dung beetle would be a good replacement for the GOP symbol, but the dung beetle does good work. Maybe the Republican symbol shouldn’t be an animal but just a steaming log of shit.
microraptorsays
Tabby Lavalamp: What about replacing the GOP symbol with a tape-worm?
multitoolsays
I know a woman who swears bats are creepy because they remind her of rats, but ironically she really loves her chihuahua.
I really want to test her resolve against fruit bats. Their faces are so puppy-like how can anyone resist them?
bargearsesays
Bonzaikitten@4
Yeah those are really nasty. A friend’s son was bitten by one of these a couple of years ago at the UQ campus in Brisbane. Thankfully he’s alright but he had to go on a 6 month course of anti-virals which he didn’t enjoy at all.
RobertLsays
Bonzaikitten @ 4. It’s a bit scary when a deadly disease (Hendra virus) is named after the suburb next to the one that I live in.
trollofreasonsays
This would be a very good pet, logistically, in the summer months when fruit is varied and cheap. Winter? Mnyeh. Also, do keep in mind that this particular species of flying fox tends to be very, very lick-y when affectionate. So imagine a tiny dog, but pathological-y aggressive with its tongue, and possessing none of the 10,000 years or so of human conditioning to stop it.
You could put the litter box on top of the china cabinet where you don’t have to look at it.
What will Mary say? That would be my worry. *yes dear*
Whenever I go to the zoo I try to make sure that I go by the fruit bat exhibit at feeding time.
They are adorable, but pretty much all have lyssavirus and Hendra virus here. Also, they’d crap on everything you love.
And they stink. Also if you don’t cover your fruiting trees you can pretty much kiss the fruit goodbye.
Roberto?
I’m afraid that we’d be dueling for the figs off of the yard’s fig tree.
Besides, I far prefer bats that eat insects. I really do have to get around to building a nice bat house (and collection system for their droppings, thereby gaining fertilizer for the garden).
I’d likely have to find a vet to care for them, as I’d be worried about white nose syndrome killing off my new friends. We have a lot of mosquitoes around here, with aedes aegypti being annoyingly plentiful.
I hate that species, just because of the all of the pathogens that they share with their victims.
We bought a cabin in the Sierra foothills many years ago that had no covering on the windows for years. There was also a large pipe to vent a fire place in the middle of the cabin. Altogether it was an excellent environment for bats. At sundown they would swarm out of the vent pipe and fly around the cabin before going out the windows. At about the same time, the mosquitoes would disappear. My wife loved them in her way. She thought the pups were cute. But, as she said, you can’t house train them, so they had to go. She waited to evict them until late in the summer to avoid harming the babies. They were pretty amazing and their effect on the evening insect population phenomenal.
FAIL! Fruit bats are peaceful herbivores. meh.
Vampire bats have the right idea, but the rabies virus makes them messy.
Maybe insectivores… if they are bred to eat carboniferous-size insects!
“And they stink. ”
And your point is ? We should call them “flying Republicans” and replace the elephant as a symbol.
Birgerjohansson, consider yourself slapped for even suggesting such a fate for the glorious bat!
I’d say the dung beetle would be a good replacement for the GOP symbol, but the dung beetle does good work. Maybe the Republican symbol shouldn’t be an animal but just a steaming log of shit.
Tabby Lavalamp: What about replacing the GOP symbol with a tape-worm?
I know a woman who swears bats are creepy because they remind her of rats, but ironically she really loves her chihuahua.
I really want to test her resolve against fruit bats. Their faces are so puppy-like how can anyone resist them?
Bonzaikitten@4
Yeah those are really nasty. A friend’s son was bitten by one of these a couple of years ago at the UQ campus in Brisbane. Thankfully he’s alright but he had to go on a 6 month course of anti-virals which he didn’t enjoy at all.
Bonzaikitten @ 4. It’s a bit scary when a deadly disease (Hendra virus) is named after the suburb next to the one that I live in.
This would be a very good pet, logistically, in the summer months when fruit is varied and cheap. Winter? Mnyeh. Also, do keep in mind that this particular species of flying fox tends to be very, very lick-y when affectionate. So imagine a tiny dog, but pathological-y aggressive with its tongue, and possessing none of the 10,000 years or so of human conditioning to stop it.