File:I am the night. I am the terror...to moths (47604617492).jpg

The lyrics of "Fear of the dark", by Iron Maiden seem pertinent upon sighting this fluffy beast hanging upside down over our heads:

"Sometimes when you're scared to take a look At the corner of the room You've sensed that something's watching you

Fear of the dark, fear of the dark I have constant fear that something's always near Fear of the dark, fear of the dark I have a phobia that someone's always there".

But is it us who should be scared or this gorgeous brown long-eared bat (Plecotus auritus), or the other way around?

Of the 1,296 bat species that have been assessed by the IUCN almost a third are considered either threatened or data deficient.

Because bats reproduce slowly, with females of most species giving birth to only one pup per year, recovery from serious losses is painfully slow and tenuous at best.

Loss of habitat remains the most widespread threat worldwide. The forests many bats use for roosting and/or foraging for food are disappearing at a frightful rate. Countless bats are being driven out of roosts in caves and abandoned mines because of inappropriate guano mining (bat droppings, or guano, are a valuable fertilizer) or thoughtless tourism. During the winter months, large numbers of bats hibernate in caves and mines. If roused from hibernation, often by human disturbance, bats can burn through the stores of fat they need to survive the winter.

What is worst, in much of the world, bats are still casually killed because of harmful myths and misplaced fears. In Latin America, whole colonies of beneficial bats are routinely destroyed in the mistaken belief that all bats are vampires. (In reality, only three of the more than 1,300 bat species feed on blood and all are in Latin America.)

In regions such as Southeast Asia and the Pacific islands bats are hunted, both as bush meat for local consumption and commercially for markets and restaurants. Large, fruit-eating bats are the primary targets. Bats are also used in some folk medicines.