Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!cs.utexas.edu!ut-sally!ut-emx!osmigo
From: osmigo@ut-emx.UUCP
Newsgroups: sci.bio,sci.misc,misc.consumers.house,rec.gardens
Subject: Re: rabies-infected bats (was Re: Re: Bug zappers)
Message-ID: <3260@ut-emx.UUCP>
Date: 12 Jun 88 03:10:13 GMT
References: <1737@homxb.UUCP> <1020@ih1ap.ATT.COM> <3131@ut-emx.UUCP> <1029@mit-caf.UUCP> <1893@silver.bacs.indiana.edu>
Reply-To: osmigo@emx.UUCP (Ron Morgan)
Organization: Speech Communication UT Austin
Lines: 21
Xref: utzoo sci.bio:1233 sci.misc:1718 misc.consumers.house:2469 rec.gardens:907

[some guy says don't worry about bats being "carriers" of rabies]

Ok, ok, OK!!!! "Carriers," whatever, don't play semantic games. The point
is, bats are a nasty animal to "have" rabies (is that a safe word?), and
have a reputation as such. Just recently, some rabid bats were found under
a bridge here in Austin, and there was a GREAT deal of concern, since they
were right smack in the middle of downtown (the Colorado River, about 500
feet wide, crosses right through town). 

The key concern seems to be that (a) bats are gregarious to the extreme, i.e.,
if one gets it, it can spread to literally hundreds of them quite easily, and
(b) being a flying creature, a rabid bat could cover quite a bit more ground
than say, a cat or dog. I shudder to think of a colony of rabid bats right
in somebody's backyard in a densely populated residential area. Sheesh.


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<||>---Ron Morgan---<||>-UUCP: {ihnp4,allegra,ut-sally}!emx!osmigo-<||||||||||>
<||>-Univ. of Texas-<||>-------osmigo@emx.UUCP---------------------<||||||||||>
<||>--Austin Texas--<||>-ARPA: osmigo@emx.utexas.edu---------------<||||||||||>
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