Some people carry out research into the physiological structure of the bat, others research its behavior. But what does the bat really want at heart?

It is dusk and there is a muffled noise as a bat falls into a trap. It struggles furiously in the net, baring its teeth and claws as it incessantly squeaks. Another is caught, but this one curls up and trembles with fear--how different from the impression of the vicious bat that exists in most people's minds! The same rice will raise a hundred different people, and it is just the same with the great variety of bats.

Empty stomachs: Over the past few years zoological students from Taiwan University have been carrying out a survey at a house in Chutung's Juanchiao where there is a colony of more than a thousand Pipistrelle Small House Bats, so as to understand their behavioral patterns and how they are affected by changes in habitat.

To establish the basic research data for this it is necessary to attach tags to the bats' feet and record their sex and weight. So, just before dark, the researchers hurriedly place nets under the eaves of the house as traps.

How can nets be effective with sonar-equipped bats? Lu Dao-jye, a conservation technician at the Council of Agriculture, explains that when night falls and the bats have been hungry all day, they come out in such a hurry that they forget to use their sonar system and fall into the traps. It is just the same as when people do not concentrate and look without seeing. If you wait until the bats have had their feast and come back with full bellies, then you can see how easily they get round the traps.

What is even more intriguing is the reaction of the bats to human interference.

The timid and the brave: The small bat does not stop trembling as it is weighed and tabbed by the researchers, lowering its head as if in a state of extreme dejection, so that the researchers cannot avoid feeling as though they have committed some kind of crime.

When the work is over, the bat is held out on the palm of a researcher's hand for release. But it is doubtful and curls up, not daring to move, thinking "Isn't this another trap?" It needs encouragement as its wings are gently opened and it is given a gentle push. "Do not be afraid, go on!" It flutters a little and takes a few steps before finally taking off.

As for the little warrior that wants to attack the researchers, as soon as it hit the net it was baring its teeth and biting at the strings. Now the researchers put on gloves and take the bat from the net, but the little firebrand does not stop trying to stretch forward and bite people, all the while struggling with its wings. Not having rested for an instant, as the time comes for the bat's release, it lets out an angry sound as if to curse: "Tough luck!"

Having been an observer here more than thirty times in two years, Lu Dao-jye recalls how on one occasion the researchers were making records when a bat stealthily wriggled itself to a safe distance and flew off. So, if you keep your cool, escape is possible.

Who understands affairs of the heart? Human beings carry out research into the bat's sonar and reproductive systems in the hope that they can discover something useful; zoologists carry out surveys on their spread, habitat and behavioral patterns, all of which are significant in finding out how best to protect them.

What then about affairs of the bat's heart? In the state of nature, do they also feel love and hate, sorrow and joy? If they knew that over the centuries people have viewed them through tinted glasses, then what would they think? And how do bats see human beings? Or do we simply not exist for them? Who really knows?

[Picture Caption]

National Taiwan University zoologist Lu Dao-jye and researcher Chen I-wen undertake research at Chutung's Juanchiao into the Pipistrelle Small House Bat and make a great contribution to basicresearch.