Comments on: Petach Tikva’s Bat Cave

By: mominisrael

mominisrael — Sun, 24 May 2009 19:42:42 +0000

Abba Eban,
Okay, okay!! I’m convinced already.

By: Abba Eban

Abba Eban — Sun, 24 May 2009 19:40:18 +0000

Hey! What did bats ever do to you?
These are not the vampire bats here, besides, vampire bats don’t bite humans. Did you overdose on Dracula lately??
Anyway, leave them bats alone, they don’t touch you and they will never trouble anybody. By the way, there are tons of them all over Israel. So, just relax.
Better get yourself worried about cockroaches, yes the huge flying ones. And maybe about snakes, or scorpions.
Or, maybe about the point that we’re living in the Middle East here, and bats flying all over town aren’t exactly our biggest problem here!

By: Abbi

Abbi — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 12:38:47 +0000

Bats live in a clump of trees around the corner from my apartment and in the trees all along Achuza. Crazy! I think it’s a thing in the Merkaz, I never saw them in J-m. (maybe it’s too cold there at night and they prefer the balmier climate here. Though i’m sure the last few weeks of cold and rain hasn’t made them so happy!

By: mominisrael

mominisrael — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 18:08:20 +0000

When I visited a patient there recently I saw no signs of renovation, and the rooms were in bad condition. But I’ll be glad to be wrong on this one. Thanks for your comment.

By: Laser

Laser — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 18:00:48 +0000

Hasharon has not stagnated at all. They do renovations all the time, such as the Imaging Department, which has recently been remodeled. There are indeed departments that have been moved to Beilinson, but the Hasharon Hospital is alive and kicking.

And from my experience, there are reasons to prefer it to Beilinson from the patients’ point of view at least.

By: mominisrael

mominisrael — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 18:00:43 +0000

Thanks Etana–I knew about the bee problems but had no idea that bats can replace some of their useful activities.

By: Etana

Etana — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 16:39:19 +0000

We see bats all over Petach Tikva…we like to take our guests on walks during the evening (around 10 pm is best) to seek them out. The bats especially like fig trees, but we see them swooping between all kinds of trees. We also saw a barn owl on a telephone wire recently. In any event, especially because there’s been an epidemic and many bees have died, bats remain one of the most reliable sources of plant fertilization in the area.

By: mominisrael

mominisrael — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 11:26:52 +0000

Thanks, Mimi, I’m sure they do. Apparently they eat mosquitoes. Like I suggested, perhaps the city could find another habitat for them.

By: Mimi

Mimi — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 10:31:34 +0000

My questions are, don’t bats have an important role in the environment? And what harm do they actually do? I ask because I remember an article in the National Geographic magazine about a certain bat cave in the States which was due for extermination, and which was saved when it was determined that …. don’t remember which factors about the bats … were actually beneficial.

Nice and vague, I know – but worth looking into if you’re concerned about the bats. Of course I don’t propose building, and abandoning a site for bat reproduction, either. They don’t bother me much, is all, and I see them swooping around behind my apartment every evening.