Merzlikin,
I. 2021. Bat in the flat — people’s reaction and further
actions (results of a sociological survey). Theriologia
Ukrainica, 22: 151–156.
title |
Bat in
the flat - people's reaction and further actions
(results of a sociological survey) |
author(s) |
Igor Merzlikin (orcid: 000-0001-8209-9144) |
affiliation |
Sumy State Pedagogical
University (Sumy, Ukraine)
Mikhailivska Tsilyna Natural Reserve (Sumy, Ukraine)
|
bibliography |
Theriologia Ukrainica.
2021. Vol. 22: 151–156. |
DOI |
http://doi.org/10.15407/TU2216 |
|
|
language |
Ukrainian, with English summary,
titles of tables, captures to figs |
abstract |
The salvation
of some animal species, including of bats, depends
not only on the adoption of laws on the protection
of these species at a state level, but also on the
attitude of the general public towards them at a
household level. Faced with a bat, a person will
act according to a certain stereotype, which has
already been formed and which is associated with
their perception of this animal. Therefore, we tried
to find out what people do in a situation when a
bat flies into their flat and what are their actions
to remove this animal from the flat, as well as
what emotions bats evoke in them. A total of 503
students of grades 5 to 10 in Sumy City and district
centres of Sumy Oblast were interviewed. Of them,
16.9 % (85) responded that they witnessed cases
of bats entering their flats. We provide data on
the location and people’s reactions. In 5.9% of
cases (5), bats were found in the morning in the
room where people slept and then they were released
from the balcony. In 94.1 % of cases (80), the animals
entered in the evening and were flying in the room.
In 34.2 % (26) of cases the animals were allowed
to fly independently and the windows were opened,
while in most occasions (47.3 %, 36) they were guided
out using various tools. At the same time, in 14.5
% cases (11) bats were killed or seriously injured
either occasionally or intentionally. In addition,
9.2 % (7) were killed by domestic cats. In 5.3 %
of all cases (4), bats died in the shelters. Three
individuals (3.9 %) were captured and kept at home
for a few days, after which they were released.
That is, 27.2% (22 individuals) of the animals reliably
died. Almost 60 % of the students think that for
whatever reasons bats are capable of attacking humans,
get entangled in their hair or bite them. There
is a widespread lack of positive perception of bats
among both schoolchildren and their parents. All
this indicates the need for further popularization
of bats among the general public and the search
for new ways to convey information. Obviously, the
emphasis should be placed not only on their «usefulness»,
but also on their attractiveness, defencelessness,
and vulnerability. This would change the attitude
towards these animals in the mass consciousness
and thus give them an additional chance to survive. |
keywords |
bats, bat in the flat,
animal conservation, environmental education. |
|
|
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