At the bat congress held last week in Tarragona, it was not easy to catch Orly Razgour. The prestigious biologist and ethologist from the University of Exeter (Great Britain) has been one of the busiest participants at this massive international meeting that has brought together 400 scholars from 45 countries, more than half of them women. At the 16th European Bat Research Symposium (EBRS) – its official name – Razgour has given one of the main conferences (on the use of genomics in bat conservation), has moderated the round tables and tried to follow as much of the torrent of communications as possible. So she had to be interviewed during a coffee break, placing two chairs in a corridor while the congressmen ran past with a sound of flying and the waving of patagions. The 47-year-old researcher, born in London but later living in Israel until she was 18, is a top scientist, but something about her seems to be under the influence of the dark creatures she studies. The tattoos that cover her right arm and part of her left, the black T-shirt with a bat print on it and a deep, searching gaze help to create an enigmatic, almost gothic aura.
Ask. How does one get into working with bats?
Answer. There will be as many responses here at the conference as there are participants. In my case it was by chance. I did a research project on them and they fascinated me. There are objective reasons for you to be interested in them, of course: they play a major ecological role as pollinators, seed spreaders and insect controllers, they adapt everywhere, they respond to challenges. Evaluating how they do in response to the changes we cause, such as climate change, seeing how they are affected, is fascinating.
P. Do you have a favorite species of the more than 1,450 that exist?
R. It’s hard to say. Each bat is fascinating in its own way. The grey long-eared bat, the Iberian buzzard, the forest bat… these are the species I deal with most.
P. What is the most interesting thing being done in the field of bats?
R. At the congress we have seen a lot of interesting information about behaviour, the interrelationship between them and between them and us; phylogenetic studies are very important to understand their evolution. And, of course, diseases and their impact on bats, how they affect them and how they are transmitting agents.
P. Has the pandemic caused a decline in society’s perception of bats? They were in bad shape, that’s all they needed.
R. In a sense, yes. But it is the environmental changes that we humans cause that actually create the danger, for us and for the bats.
P. It has been noted that bats bite us quite a bit.
R. I’m surprised you say that, because they live lives very different from ours. Basically, because they live at night and fly. If you catch them, they can bite you, of course, like any animal. But they don’t have the inclination to do so, they don’t go after us, you can rest assured.
P. They will bite you a lot if you manipulate them.
R. Sometimes. Precautions must be taken, there are safety protocols. Use the appropriate equipment, gloves, know how to hold them.
P. There is one in my house, it flies from one side of the living room to the other.
R. There is no danger, take advantage of the opportunity to observe them, they are very interesting animals.
P. Can they become pets?
R. No wild animal should be.
P. Do you develop a special appreciation for bats?
R. As with any animal you live and work with. Again, each researcher will give a reason for that feeling: many because of a generic love of nature.
P. Why do you think bats have traditionally been viewed in such a negative light?
R. As Patti Smith would say, because the night. Because they are the masters of the night and are associated with it, the fear they produce is the fear of darkness. But it has no real basis.
P. Well, there are vampires.
R. Nothing to do with myths and fantasies. There are only three species of these blood-sucking bats, and only one of them feeds regularly on the blood of mammals, the common vampire bat. It is very rare to find a person who has been bitten by a vampire.
P. Well, my mother was bitten by one when she was a child, in Venezuela. On the lip.
R. Oh [mira a su interlocutor con renovado interés].
P. Have you dealt with them, with the vampires?
R. Yes, in Costa Rica, I have handled them, but I have never been bitten by one, so far.
P. What state are the bats in?
R. We are seeing dramatic declines in some populations, which is very bad news. It generally depends on the species. Climate change is affecting them in different ways. But there is cause for concern. Some have already become extinct, such as the Christmas Island bat (Pipistrellus murrayi), from Australia, which has not been seen since 2009. Another big problem is the cats.
P. Bats don’t seem like they’re easy to catch.
R. There are cats that become great specialists in hunting them. From the rooftops.
P. The life of a bat researcher must be adventurous, right?
R. It depends on the species you are studying, whether it is one that lives far away or in caves.
P. More than half of the congress participants are women.
R. Unfortunately, women still have a limited presence in the world of science, especially in senior positions, but in the field of bat studies, efforts have been made to promote them and give them visibility, and the conference reflects that.
P. His name, Orly Razgour, sounds a bit disturbing, a little Transylvanian if pronounced with a Bela Lugosi accent, to be honest.
R. It is true that it is rare. The surname was invented by my Polish grandfather who was an artist, it is unique in the world, only my family has it.
You can follow SUBJECT in Facebook, X and Instagramor sign up here to receive our weekly newsletter.
#Orly #Razgour #bat #expert #bitten #vampire