Living
NOVEMBER 2007
BATS IN
AEGINA
One cool
October evening, whilst I was in the back garden sweeping
leaves, I stooped to pick up what I believed to be a rotten
horse chestnut. As my thumb and forefinger went to grasp the
dark dome shaped structure, two huge black wings briskly fanned
out and a head emerged bearing ugly, bulging eyes.
Not being
someone with a natural affinity for animals and chiding myself
for believing it to be a horse chestnut when no such tree exists
in Aegina, I urgently called the children.
The trio,
all amateur zoologists, enthusiastically swooped down on the
creature but immediately retreated when it demonstrated the
whoosh and size of its wingspan.
On ordering
them to calm down so that the creature wouldn’t become agitated,
we decided to consult the oracle.
My ninety
one year old mother-in-law, a woman of infinite knowledge and
wisdom is also adept at performing exmatia… By reciting a number
of ancient prayers, pausing occasionally to spit out the evil
spirit, she is well known for ridding many islanders of
headaches, malaise, depression and any other ailment inflicted
by the evil eye. She of all people would know about bats!
According to her, a live bat brings good luck and such a
creature deserves enormous respect.
So
respectfully, the children enticed the bat into a large unwanted
toy-box, inside which they placed a couple of old olive
branches, numerous leaves and associated insects and anything
else they believed might make a bat happy.
On top of
this, they placed a discarded barbecue grill which they secured
with an old crumbling stone.
Some time
later,
they decided to take it some tea and to examine its habits but
to their disappointment it had gone. Being a nocturnal creature,
it must have been keen to resume normal evening habits of
searching for palatable food .It must also have been driven mad
by the noise emanating from my family. These two factors were
enough to motivate the bat’s escape.
My
mother-in –law claims that the bats seen on Aegina Island
inhabit the surrounding un-colonised, isolated rocky islands and
visit Aegina to hunt tiny mammals and to eat fruit?
In my brief
search, I couldn’t find any literature documenting the study of
bats in the Saronic Gulf but a study conducted in the north of
Greece by T Ivanona and A Gueorguieva demonstrated 21 species*,
the most common of which were Rhinolophus ferrumequinum and
Rhinolophus hipposideros which I assume means they are
horse-like!!
Concerning
folklore, Greek superstitions about bats and bat-bones vary from
island to island** I assume that in Aegina and using my
mother-in-law as a barometer, bats are considered a good omen.
According to Susie Atsaides though, village superstitions are
region dependent and whereas some islanders believe they are
lucky, others believe the opposite, considering them unholy,
evil creatures.
Aegina has
a wealth of wildlife which my writing will reveal.
Meanwhile,
there is an exciting biology thesis to be worked on here for any
I.B or degree student. What are the bat species in Aegina? What
is their ecological niche and are they endangered?
References
Ivanova,
Teodora, Gueorguieva, Antaoneta
Bats (
Mammalia:Chiroptera) of the Eastern Rhodopes ( Bulgaria and
Greece) – species diversity, zoogeography and faunal patterns
In: Beron
P, Popov A (eds) Biodiversity of Bulgaria.2. biodiversity of
Eastern Rhodopes ( Bulgaria and Greece). Pensoft and Nat.Mus.
Natur. Hist.,Sofia, 907-927
Susie
Atsaides Greek Superstitions
http://www.faliraki-info.com/susie/superstitions/greek-traditions.htm
Alison Lorentzos
copyright 2007
