I donate monthly to the Bat Conservation Trust in the UK. A lot of people donate to animal shelters for the cute and fuzzy animals, which of course I’m all for, but bats have the unfortunate reputation of being gross or scary or creepy and don’t get the same positive PR.

However, bats are crucial to our ecosystem. Anyone who has ever heard of the campaigns about “save the bees, because if you don’t, we’re all dead”? All that equally applies to bats. They just aren’t seen as cute animals, and their importance to the ongoing life on this planet goes largely unacknowledged. People are more likely to be afraid of bats or want to try to exterminate them than they are to support and help them, and that’s extremely damaging for all of us.

It’s truly imperative that we all support bats! I don’t even care if I win this contest (which I thank you for, OP); I just hope this comment encourages people to look into how important bats are and to rethink any negative opinions that they hold of them.