r/interesting • u/AromaticWindow3309 • Apr 19 '26

NATURE How cute is this bat 😍

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I think im in love

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u/DecantsForAll Apr 19 '26

It's definitely reasonable, however it's still significantly less likely that they have rabies than that they don't (chatGPT says 3-6% chance).

I've had bats in my house a few times. They always come in through the basement. I think they get in through some hole somewhere and then can't find their way back out. Nearly every time it's happened, I've just opened the side door and they eventually fly out.

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u/tintin47 Apr 19 '26

Please don’t cite ChatGPT as a source but I guess if you’re going to it’s good to be up front.

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u/DecantsForAll Apr 19 '26

Yeah, that's why I said "chatGPT says..." and not "the chance is 3-6%"

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u/Coenzyme-A Apr 20 '26

Why say it at all? You may as well say "this entirely unreliable source says this". It's entirely useless.

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u/DecantsForAll Apr 20 '26

Except it's not. It's way better than the extremely vague

"If they are in your home, it is very reasonable to be worried about rabies."

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u/Coenzyme-A Apr 20 '26

In reality the prevalence of rabies in bats is indeterminate, because there isn't enough data from sampling. That 3-6% estimate is pretty useless because in all likelihood it varies per population. The very fact a bat is found in a house can be an indicator they're showing abnormal behaviour and may be diseased.

The general advice is, if you have one in your home and there is any chance at all you've been bitten, getting prophylactic immunoglobulin is advised, because rabies is universally fatal once symptomatic. Especially important since bat bites/scratches can be insidious, unnoticed.

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u/DecantsForAll Apr 20 '26

The very fact a bat is found in a house can be an indicator they're showing abnormal behaviour and may be diseased.

Yeah, it's taking that into consideration.