Fear of bats, sometimes called chiropterophobia (from the Greek ???? - cheir, "hand" and ?????? - pteron, "wing" referring to the order of the bats, and ????? - phobos, meaning "fear"), is a specific phobia associated with bats and to common negative stereotypes and fear of bats.
Video Fear of bats
Roots and misconceptions
Contrary to a widespread misconception, only 3 species of bats feed on blood, and these species only live in Latin America. Common ignorance often leads to misidentification.
At the same time, the fear of bats may be naturally reinforced by the natural startle response experienced by an unsuspecting person, e.g., when a disturbed colony of bats dashes out of a cave. In fact, the majority of bats, specifically the microbats which make up the majority of species, are terrified of humans and see man as a potential predator; bats disturbed in their roost instinctively flee as fast as they can, with maternity colonies sometimes abandoning their babies since they are desperate to escape.
Often, people fear bats due to the possibility of contracting rabies, but only 0.5% of vampire bats carry rabies.
Maps Fear of bats
Phobia
As is common with specific phobias, an occasional fright may give rise to abnormal anxiety that requires treatment. An abnormal fear of bats may be treated by any standard treatment for specific phobias. Due to the fact that the fear is not life altering, it can usually just be left untreated.
Fiction
Building on the fear of bats, vampires in stories and films are often portrayed as being able to transform into bats for locomotion.
A modern example associating fear with bats in fiction is DC Comics' Batman. In many adaptations, Batman is said to have chosen to emulate bats to strike fear into the hearts of criminals. In the film Batman Begins, Bruce Wayne, Batman's secret identity, actually develops a fear of bats as a child when he falls into a cave and is attacked by bats. Ra's al Ghul makes a grown up Bruce Wayne conquer his fear. One of Batman's enemies, the Scarecrow, is also mentioned as being afraid of bats, or more specifically, of Batman himself.
In Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls the titular character is revealed to have chiroptophobia despite his otherwise strong affinity for animals.
Hank Hill from King of the Hill has chiroptophobia because according to Hank himself, "Bats freak him[/me] out".
Grif from Red vs. Blue also showed signs of chiroptophobia during the series' fifth season.
See also
- List of phobias
References
- Merlin D. Tuttle, America's Neighborhood Bats (1988: ISBN 0-292-70403-8) (2005: ISBN 0-9742379-1-4, ISBN 0-292-71280-4)
External links
- earthlife.net: Bats and Humanity
- House Bat Management (a USGS online publ. for Greenhall, Arthur M. 1982. "House bat management". U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Resource Publication 143. Jamestown, ND: Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center Online)
- Bats Northwest - a non profit dedicated to education, research & conservation
- Bat Conservation International
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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