Noyal-Muzillac (France) (AFP)
In the middle of the night, the nave of a Breton church in France echoes with shrill squeals: between pipettes and crucifixes, the building hosts the annual check-up of large murines, one of the 1,400 species of bats demonized by humans who don't know what they owe them.
"19.7 grams."
Hanging upside down by its claws in a tube placed on a scale, it is the weighing for a male born a few weeks ago in the attic of the church of Noyal-Muzillac (north-west of France) where females of the only mammal capable of flight give birth each year.
In the light of headlamps, the dozens of bats of this colony pass from hand to hand - gloved to avoid the bite of small sharp teeth.
Gender, height, weight, wear of the teeth, state of the translucent wings, blood test, biopsy ... The volunteers and scientists of the Bretagne Vivante association and of the University College of Dublin examine the animals from every angle.
Before implanting under the skin of the last born a transponder no bigger than a grain of rice.
For ten years, several thousand great murines, a protected species with dark fur, have been marked in this way, in order to be able to follow their movements from gite to gite, explains Corentin Le Floch, from Bretagne Vivante.
"The objective is to better understand their area of life, the survival of individuals, understand how they use the territory and thus how to better protect their habitats, their reproduction and hibernation sites".
But why so much want to protect the animal which arouses in many fear and disgust, and which has rarely been pointed out as much as since the appearance of Covid-19 - its transmission from a bat to an intermediate animal before? contamination of humans remains the most likely hypothesis for the World Health Organization.
Because they are threatened.
From the tiny 2g "bumblebee bat" to the 1.5m wingspan Philippine flying fox, about 40% of the 1,321 species assessed on the Red List of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN ) are classified as endangered.
And because far from the fantasies of the blood-sucking beast that hangs in the hair, the "services they render us are so immense and diverse that they affect all aspects of our life", summarizes Rodrigo Medellin, co -President of the IUCN bat group.
- Deforestation and climate change -
Like the entire biodiversity of the planet, put in the spotlight at the IUCN congress in early September, bats are increasingly threatened by human beings.
"We are losing species all over the world," notes Julie Marmet, chiropterologist at the National Museum of Natural History in France.
For 50 million years, these mammals have been "resilient" but today changes are "far too fast for species to adapt," she continues.
Insectivores, fruit eaters or nectarivores, for bats the number one danger is the destruction of their environment, especially deforestation, according to experts.
Many species live in trees, and the 40% that live in caves "also depend heavily on forests for food," says Winifred Frick, chief scientist at Bat Conservation International.
Caves are not safer.
Torches from tourists or activity of guano collectors used as fertilizer as in Thailand: the slightest disturbance can be devastating.
"Especially when mothers have their little one," insists the biologist.
Especially since most species only have one baby per year, a very unusual figure for such a small mammal - still a generally accepted idea, they do not swarm like rats, insists Julie Marmet.
So "if there is a problem on a colony, it's over."
And already, they are victims of climate change.
Like the flying foxes of Australia decimated by heat waves or the Brazilian mastiffs victims of the cold in Texas.
These little bats stopped migrating in the winter to Mexico to stay under Texas bridges thanks to the warmer temperatures in recent years.
But "last winter, there was a very cold episode: thousands and thousands died of hypothermia," says Winifred Frick.
By choosing an apparently suitable habitat, "directly above the river, their restaurant", but ultimately vulnerable, they fell into an "ecological trap".
- Fatal blade -
Outside her home, the life of a bat is strewn with obstacles.
In South-East Asia or Africa, the biggest are victims of hunters, for their meat, sometimes just for sport.
Elsewhere, insectivorous species risk the diet, their pantry decimated by pesticides.
Already victims of collisions with cars, they must now avoid wind turbines.
A blade can be fatal.
And even without contact, their internal organs do not resist the pressure change associated with the movement of air.
In the United States alone, 500,000 are killed each year by wind turbines, according to studies.
Not to mention predators, owls, snakes or cats.
There is a cave in Jamaica where "in an hour, a cat can kill 20 bats: it knocks them out with a kick, tears off their wings and makes them its snack," says Winifred Frick.
A large murine, one of 1,400 species of bats, in Noyal-Muzillac (north-western France) on July 7, 2021 Amélie BOTTOLLIER-DEPOIS AFP
Or the traps inadvertently set, relates Andrzej Kepel, of the Polish association Salamandra.
Imagine lighting with motion detection, a stairwell, the migration of pipistrelles that only fly in the dark: the ephemeral stopover turns into a nightmare.
"When they try to fly away, the lights come on, they land. They try again and again," says the naturalist.
"Their cries attract more bats. After a few days, there are hundreds of them in the stairwell, it is panic" among humans.
The trapped pipistrelles starve to death.
- Secrets -
And yet.
No one knows, but without them, we wouldn't eat the same.
Have you ever had a coffee, tasted a corn cake, bitten into a fig?
Thank the bats, says Prof. Medellin of the IUCN.
"They are the best natural pesticide".
Some species can swallow half their weight in insects each night, according to Bat Conservation International.
A free assistant for farmers and a natural mosquito repellent.
From tree to tree, frugivorous species contribute to the dispersal of seeds.
Some are even unknown pollinators.
"We have tequila because bats have been pollinating agave flowers for millions of years," smiles Prof Medellin.
Beyond that, the astonishing constitution of the bugs intrigues scientists who dream of unraveling their secrets for the benefit of humans.
Fly low, make sharp turns to avoid obstacles, find one's way thanks to echolocation (echo of the ultrasounds they emit): the natural sonar of bats inspires engineers.
Without being sick, the creature - of which the anagram form "virus strain" - can harbor many deadly viruses for humans, such as coronaviruses or Ebola.
And, without being affected by age, she lives exceptionally long given her small size.
The geneticist Emma Teeling of University College Dublin is seriously looking for the key to sparing humans the pains of old age ...
- Dracula and the Pope -
"In the cosmogony of the Mayas, bats play a big role in the creation of the universe", also recalls Rodrigo Medellin.
But in the West, these "little-known night animals" have bad press, comments Julie Marmet.
They became "the symbol of horror" with Halloween and the horror films.
Bram Stoker and his famous Dracula created in the 19th century, the first association in literature between vampires and bats, have a lot to do with it.
From there, "they began to be accused of being sent by the devil, of being evil, disgusting and vectors of disease," continues Mr. Medellin.
Batman couldn't do anything about it.
Even in 2020, Pope Francis was launching: "When we are in sin, we are like + human bats +".
There are, however, only three vampire bats in South America that feed primarily on animal blood, not human.
It's scary, it bites, it's ugly, but by dint of studying them, scientists end up loving them.
"It's cute! We get attached to it," says Corentin Le Floch.
In the church of Noyal-Muzillac, it's tea time.
A large murine nibbles on a wriggling mealworm.
A caress on his little pointy ears and that's freedom.
© 2021 AFP