For inspiration and a few tent erecting tips, here are three tent-building animals:

Eastern Tent-Making Caterpillar

These fuzzy little moths-to-be are the “social butterflies” of the caterpillar world, preferring to live in groups rather than alone. Every spring, after emerging from their eggs, these caterpillars make their way up the tree and begin constructing silk tents that will serve as their communal home during their entire larval lives (6-8 weeks).

Tent-making caterpillars hanging around their silken tent. Flickr photo by Thure Johnson

Tip you can use: Unless you want to create a sauna, avoid pitching your tent in direct sunlight if possible.

Weaver Birds

Just as some humans prefer sleeping in tent hammocks while camping, weaver birds also prefer hanging structures for comfort. These creative chirpers, known as Ploceidae birds, are found throughout Africa and Asia and are famous for creating elaborate hanging nests.

Veaver birds use leaf fibers, grass and twigs to construct their nests, which vary in shape and size. Another social species, these birds will usually build their nests close together, often several to one branch.  Some species even build the nest equivalent of an apartment complex; with 100-300 bird pairs living together, each with their own chamber.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Sounds like a lot of work, but the best nests attract the best partners. Even though male weaver birds tend to be brightly colored, it is not enough to attract a mate. Only the most elaborate, well constructed nests will lure in prospective females.

Tip you can use: Unlike weaver birds, you don’t want to put up your tent too close to another tent if camping with family and friends. A tent’s thin “walls” will let every sound, word and snore be heard. So do yourself a favor and give yourself some space.

Tent-Making Bat

These tent-making bats are keeping dry under their homemade leaf tent. Wikimedia photo by Charlesjsharp

Despite being made from a single leaf, a bat tent can last up to 60 days! Considering that it can take these tiny bats several nights to chew throw a one leaf, it’s good to know they only have to do it once every few months.

Tip you can use: If you expect bad weather while camping, be sure to attach a rainfly to your tent. The rainfly is a special tarp that is spread over the top of the tent to make it waterproof.

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1. Emperor Tamarin Monkey: It is rumored that the emperor tamarin was named for how it resembled the German emperor Wilhelm II, due to the characteristics of its mustache.

2. Mountain Lion Cubs: Besides being a fierce predator, mountain lions are fantastic for sporting fur mustaches.

3.  Northern Flicker: This male yellow-shafted flicker is distinguishable from his western relative because he has a black malar instead of a red one.

4. Mustached Bats: Bats from the family Mormoopidae are nicknamed mustached bats, but as you can see, they aren’t kidding. This Antillean Ghost-faced Bat’s face depicts quite the ‘stache! The other bats sporting mustaches aren’t quite as lucky. Unfortunately a sign of a bat that suffered from white nose syndrome is a white fungus around the nose. Learn how you can help bats with bad mustaches here. 

5.  Moustached Treeswift: While much is unknown about the size of this bird’s population, we can definitely say they show off one awesome mustache.

6. Catfish: This diverse group of fish are named for their barbels that resemble cat whiskers. But they aren’t the only fish to sport mustache look-a-likes: the male molly fish in Mexico actually attracts females with his mustache.

7.  Inca Tern: This bird eats anchovies and breeds on the coast of Peru and Chile—clearly an example of elegance and class!

8. Robber Fly: While we don’t take the time to look this closely at many of the insects near us, we wanted to show that up close, insects like this robber fly, dragon flies and even butterflies will demonstrate mustaches.

9. Walrus: The grizzly whiskers on this walrus impressed us. These animals are only aggressive during mating season– but still it may be best to not look this animal in the eye…

10. Tentacled Snake: These snakes are new to the Smithsonian National Zoo and have a fascinating “mustache”. Their facial feature serves as sensory mechanisms that allow them to pick up vibrations from prey.

This Photo courtesy of Brittany Steff, Smithsonian’s National Zoo.

Will you never tire of animals with mustaches? Visit this hilarious Tumblr for some fun (and less realistic) animal mustaches.

Happy mustaches everyone!

Becky McIntire and I co-authored this blog.

Bats

Did you know Washington is home to sixteen of the world’s 900+ species of bats? While most commonly associated with comic book superheroes or blood-sucking vampires, bats are actually a critical part of Washington’s ecosystems. They dine on hundreds of insects a night in the summer, controlling pest populations and providing fertilizer and seed dispersal for our forests and other ecosystems. Check them out on batcams, here and here.

A female Townsend’s big-eared bat, Corynorhinus townsendii. Photo: J. N. Stuart

Myth: Bats only live in caves – or attics!

Fact: Bats make their homes in hollow trees and snags as well as caves. You can also put up bat houses.

Myth: Bats are flying rodents.

Fact: Bats are mammals! And they are more similar to humans than they are to rodents such as mice.

Myth: While bats on the East Coast are in trouble from White-Nose Syndrome, Pacific Northwest bats are doing just fine.

Fact: Nine of Washington’s bat species are listed as state Species of Special Concern or as Federal Candidate Category 2 species, which means we lack enough information to list them under the Endangered Species Act even though listing may be appropriate. The Townsend’s Big-eared bat, for example, is one of the rarest bats in Puget Sound. According to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, whole colonies of these cave-dependent species have disappeared after human disturbance.

You can help bats! By providing habitat with trees, snags, and bat houses, minimizing pesticide use, avoiding roosting bats, supporting bat research, practicing responsible bat watching, and much more, you can help sustain our beautiful and essential bat populations.

Most of this information is drawn from a wonderful website: www.batsnorthwest.org.

Owls

Owls have held a mysterious appeal for humans for thousands of years, appearing in myths, legends and superstitions, often as harbingers of death or as symbols of wisdom.  Maybe we find owls fascinating because of their large eyes, silent flight, nocturnal habits and their disconcerting

Threatened northern spotted owl, Strix occidentalis caurina, with young. Photo: Jim Thrailkill/USFWS

Myth: Owls can turn their heads around in a full 360 degree circle.

 Fact: Most sources agree that an owl can turn its head just 3/4 or 270 degrees around, which is still impressive.

Myth: Those tufts are ears.

 Fact: Nope, the ears are located on the side of the head, just like in people.  However, the ears may be uneven, allowing the birds to locate prey by triangulating with sound when  vision isn’t enough.  The tufts are thought to be useful in camouflaging the bird as well as expressing aggression.

Lamprey

If you need a costume idea for next year, consider lamprey! The lamprey is a culturally-important species for many Pacific Northwest Tribes, who harvest the fish for subsistence, ceremonial, and medicinal purposes. All three species have been suggested for listing as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Despite their importance, myths persist about their feeding and habitat preferences.

Although mating pairs of lamprey typically construct their redds, or nest, together, this is a single female Pacific lamprey (Lampetra tridentata). Photo: USFWS Pacific (courtesy of Jeremy Monroe)

Myth: Lamprey live only in fresh water.

Fact: Four lamprey species are native to the Columbia Basin and two of them – Pacific and river lamprey – are anadromous, meaning they live in both fresh and saltwater. The other two, Western brook and Pacific brook lamprey, are freshwater species. All lamprey play an important role in the freshwater stream ecosystem, recycling nutrients by filtering microscopic plants and animals from the bottom sediments.

 Myth: Lamprey are parasites.

Fact: Pacific and river lamprey are parasitic, but only in the ocean phase of their life cycle. They are also food for sharks and sea lions! Western brook and Pacific brook lamprey are not parasites. 

Spiders

From horror movies with giant spiders to the fear of spiders known as arachnophobia, spiders are among the most feared and misunderstood creatures common to the Pacific Northwest. In truth, spiders are quite important for managing pests and generally avoid contact with us.

Myth: Daddy-longlegs venom is fatal to humans, but fortunately their fangs are too small to bite us.

Fact: Only one of the three groups called daddy-longlegs – the Pholcid spiders – has venom and there is no evidenceit is fatal. Also, what many term daddy-longlegs are actually crane

Is this Tegenaria gigantea, the giant house spider? It’s hard to tell without a microscope and other tools. Photo: Becky McIntire

flies or harvestmen, neither of which have venom.

Myth: Spiders found in or near drains came up through the pipes.

Fact: It seems spiders actually get stuck on the smooth surfaces common to sinks and tubs after they have come down from a wall or ceiling.

Myth: Spiders are easy to identify, for example by their markings.

Fact: Spiders are identified by their structure and a microscope is often needed to do so.

And for those of you who think spider webs are small, check out this blog to see an enormous spider web! Most of these mythbusting facts are drawn from an extensive website on Spider Myths, authored by the Burke Museum’s Curator of Arachnids Rod Crawford.

Snakes

Snakes are fascinating. I devoured every book and Discovery channel show I could find on them as a child. I learned that yes, snakes shed their skin, but no, they do not roll into a big “O” and roll away from you. I’ve even had the opportunity to hold a garter snake and feel the muscles of an albino python around my neck. My love and curiosity about snakes remains today. Here are some other cool myths and facts about snakes in the Pacific Northwest.

Common garter snakes (Thamnophus sirtalis) are quite common in the Pacific Northwest. Photo: Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife

Myth: Garter snakes swallow their young to protect them from danger.

Fact: There is no evidence that garter snakes, or any of the other snakes common to the Pacific Northwest, swallow their young. Garter snakes do, however, give birth to live young. And this winter, you are unlikely to see many snakes because most species will be hibernating.

Myth: Snakes are slimy.

Fact: Snakeskin is actually dry and relatively smooth. Amphibians such as frogs and salamanders, on the other hand, have moist skin to allow water and other nutrients to pass through.

Myth: Constrictor species like pythons and boas are only found in tropical climates.

Fact: Washington is home to the rubber boa, a 14-30 inch long relative of the world’s largest snakes! It is not often seen, but may be found damp wooded areas, camouflaged by its olive-green or red to brown skin.

Keep up to date on all our work at the Pacific Regional Center office in Seattle: follow us on Twitter (@nwfpacific) and like us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/nwfpacific).

Crows and Ravens

Raven U.S. FWS

• They remember your face. Once a crow is mad at you and it will remember it doesn’t like you for ages and will raise a real fuss when it sees you.
• They conspire. Crows communicate at a high level with one another using dozens of different “caws.” This helps them organize to pursue certain food sources (Farmer Brown’s corn), post lookouts and chase off predators.
• They use tools and can plan ahead. Crows have been seen using twigs to pry open food or to check on whether a snake is alive but their most unbelievable feat is to lay hard-to-open nuts on a road and wait for a vehicle to come by and break it open. Now THAT is scary!

Spiders

They are so frightening to so many people that their images have become a constant for Halloween. They even have their own psychiatric condition: Arachnophobia

Giant Spider Web Texas FWP

• You can’t get away from them. There are about 70,000 species in the world.
• Black widow spiders may be the scariest because they often cannibalize they mates.
• Some species of tarantulas can fight off predators by shooting irritating hairs at them.
• What might be the largest spider web ever was found in a Texas Park a few years back and covered several trees.  It was so big it drew thousands of visitors.
• The true spiders of the order Araneae comprise the largest group of carnivorous animals on Earth.

Bats

Bats have become associated with blood sucking vampires. They are mostly nocturnal and certain species (vampire bats) do indeed draw blood in small amounts from animals for food. This make them seem scary but they do not harm humans. There are other things about bats you should know.

• They are the only flying mammal. A flying squirrel does not actually fly, it glides.
• The largest bat (the Malaysian flying fox) has a six foot wingspan
• One bat will eat 2,000 to 6,000 insects per night.
• The Honduran white bat, a colorful snow-white, cuts leaves to make “tents” to protect its small colonies from drenching jungle rains.
  

  Flyin Fox Bat Cns. Intnl.

• Sadly, North America’s bat colonies are besieged by a life-threatening fungus that is wiping out entire colonies. Scientists are working hard to find cures and solutions.

Black Cats

They are associated with bad luck.  If one crosses your path, legend has it you are in for hard times or a mishap. Black domestic cats are fairly common in the U.S. but you have to go pretty far to find a true American black cat. The Jaguar may be the best candidate.

• It is the largest cat in the Americas at 200 to 250 pounds and six to eight feet in length.  It roams the forests of Central and South America but a few of them live in the Southwest U.S.
• There are black jaguars in the wild whose darker color is due to a variation known as melanism.  The basic spots are still there but are just harder to see.
• Jaguars are terrific swimmers and (like bats) they mostly hunt at night.
• The jaguar’s name means “a beast that kills its prey with a single bound.”  That is pretty scary too.
• The North American Jaguar is extremely rare and highly endangered and will require more territory to survive.

Halloween is surely a time for family fun and maybe even a little outdoor (spooky) time with the kids.  But it is also a time to appreciate the fascinating and complex creatures that we love to make us scared.  These “scary” creatures pose no real threat to humans and many are suffering from the effects of habitat loss, pollution and more.  National Wildlife Federation is working every day to protect our most endangered species for many Halloweens to come. Here is how to support and contribute to NWF.

Bats Are Mammals

Bats grow hair and feed infant young with mother’s milk, two defining characteristics of mammals. Biologists put bats in the scientific order Chiroptera (from Greek meaning “hand wing”), in the same way that carnivores like bears, wolves, lions and tigers are put in the order Carnivora.

Bats Are Biologically Old Creatures

In the fossil record, bats date back at least 52 million years—tens of millions of years before apes and humans appear.

Bats Are the Only Flying Mammals

Other mammal species glide, but only bats are capable of powered flight. Their wings are composed of the elongated fingers of the forelimbs with a thin webbing of furred skin stretching between the fingers. Because these wings are thinner than those of feathery birds, bats are capable of more rapid and precise turns than are birds.

The long ears on this big-eared, or long-eared, bat help the animal to listen to its sonar signals bouncing off its surroundings. Bats can modify the shape of the ears and reduce the amount of sound going into them to keep loud sonar signals–which humans can’t even hear–from deafening them. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Bats Are Very Successful

In biology, a successful order is one that produces a lot of species, showing that it is highly adaptable to many environments. The chiropterans have produced nearly 1,250 living species, meaning that about 20 percent of the world’s roughly 5,700 living mammal species are bats. (Of the various orders of mammal, only one beats bats in species numbers, and that is the order Rodentia—rodents—at roughly 2,277 species, including mice, rats, chipmunks, hamsters and beavers).

Bats Are Slow Breeders

Females usually produce only one offspring at a time, probably because pregnant bats must fly to find food and can handle only so much onboard cargo. Mothers feed newborns with milk and bring food to older young, which cannot fend for themselves until they are able to fly—a development that may take six weeks to four months, depending on the species. Animals that breed slowly usually live a relatively long time, allowing them to produce sufficient young to maintain the species, and bats are no exception. Individuals of some bat species can live 20 years.

Bats Are Insect Eaters

True, many bats hunt on the wing for insect prey, eating thousands of small insects each night. Many of the small bats native to the United States follow this diet. But some bat species eat fruit, some small animals such as frogs, and some even eat fish.

Bats Are Echolocators

Bats that hunt flying insects may use a form of sonar or echolocation—while flying, they emit sounds that bounce off nearby objects. The echo helps the bat locate what lies ahead, including such prey as moths and mosquitoes. Some bats eat insects on the ground, but they also use highly developed hearing to locate their prey.

Bats Are Not Creatures that Get Tangled in People’s Hair

Certainly not. Their use of echolocation is so precise that

they can fly in complete darkness through a room crisscrossed with stretched lengths of string, compared to which a human is like the broad side of a barn.

Bats Are Little Animals

Yes, in many cases they are. In fact, one of the smallest mammals in the world is the bumblebee bat (also called Kitti’s hog-nosed bat), with a body less than an inch and a half long and weighing around 0.07 ounces. Found in Thailand and Burma, it feeds on insects.

Bats Are Large Animals

Pretty large, sometimes. Fruit bats, a.k.a. flying foxes, of Australia and parts of Asia and Africa can reach a wingspan of nearly 5 feet and weigh 2.5 pounds. Relying on a keen sense of smell and good eyesight to find the fruit on which they feed, they may fly 40 miles in search of a fruiting tree.

Outdoor Fun for You and Your Kids at Hike & Seek

In September and October, join NWF’s Hike & Seek™ in select cities nationwide for a 1- to 2-mile nature hike and scavenger hunt, during which you can learn more about bats at the Mammals Station on the trail, see a barn owl or other raptor up close, make a bug box and find many more activities for children of all ages, especially toddlers to age 10.

Batty Activities for a Pre-hike Kickoff

• Join thousands of other Americans who are turning backyards into Certified Wildlife Habitat ™

• Most bats are nocturnal. What should you do if you see one in the daytime?

• A Kid Quiz on bats

• Building a bat house.

With The Dark Knight Rises premiering this week, we wanted to revisit our assertions and add even more amazing reasons why Bruce Wayne should take a backseat to the bats of the world.

One in Five Mammal Species is a Bat

About one in every five species of mammal is a bat, which is to say, there are nearly 1,250 bat species out of about 5,700 mammal species (these numbers vary from source-to-source and time-to-time both because of the vagaries of classification and the discovery of new species).

The ability of bats to produce so many species is a sign that they can adapt to a wide variety of habitats and means they are among the most biologically successful, if not the most biologically successful, group of mammals.

Bats are Better Fliers than Birds

The lesser long-nosed bat (below) is a great example of why wings have made bats the successes they are today, after more than 52 million years of evolution.

An Arizona lesser long-nosed bat caught feeding on pollen by National Wildlife Photo Contest entrant Greg Tucker.

The wings are composed of the elongated fingers of the bat’s forelimb with a thin webbing of furred skin stretching between the fingers to create the flying surface. Because these wings are thinner than those of feathery birds, bats are better fliers than birds, capable of more rapid and precise turns. Nerve receptors in the wings help bats sense changes in air flow and even to use their wings as nets to catch insect prey.

Wings have allowed them to be highly adaptable and to turn up in some unexpected places…

Photograph of Costa Rican bats by National Wildlife Photo Contest entrant Timothy Potter.

Some Bats Sleep in Groups, Which May Number in the Millions

Bats flutter and settle in a Panama cave, photographed by Michael Drake, an entrant in the National Wildlife Photo Contest.

Bats Have Advanced Foraging Skills, Using Sonar and Sound

Bats tend to be specialized in their foraging habits. Those that hunt flying insects may use a form of sonar or echolocation—while flying, they emit sounds that bounce off nearby objects. The echo helps the bat locate what lies ahead, including such prey as moths and mosquitoes. Some bats eat insects on the ground, but they also use highly developed hearing to locate their prey.

The unusual-looking bat below has an appetite for an altogether different type of food:

Photo by National Wildlife Photo Contest entrant Bejat A. McCracken.

Some Bats Eat Fruit

Not all bats eat other animals, including the largest of the bats:

Erik Seidel, National Wildlife Photo Contest entrant, captured this image of fruit bats in Cairns, Queensland, Australia.

Bats Usually Have Only One Baby at a Time

Bats may range widely in size and food preferences, but there is one thing almost all have in common…

A flying fox mother and her offspring roost in a hut in South Africa. Image by National Wildlife Photo Contest entrant Pauline Kamath.

Mothers feed newborns with milk and bring food to older young, which cannot fend for themselves until they are able to fly.

Producing only one young at a time means that bats breed relatively slowly. Individuals of some species can live 20 years, however, giving them time to produce sufficient offspring for species survival. But such a slow birth rate can make bats vulnerable to die offs, such as one occurring now in the United States.

More Than a Million Bats Have Died From White-Nose Syndrome in North America

A little brown bat shows the characteristic white nose of a bat infected with the deadly fungus Geomyces destructans. Photo courtesy of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

A close-up of an Indiana bat pictures a creature that is increasingly rare from loss of cave hibernating sites and white-nose syndrome. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The little brown bat (an infected specimen, above) has shown some adaptability that may help it survive: a socially roosting species that is one of the most common bats in the Northeast, it seems to be shifting into solitary roosting in parts of its range, according to new research from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

“Our analysis suggests that the little brown bats are probably not going to go extinct, because they are changing their social behavior in a way that will result in them persisting at smaller populations,” says A. Marm Kilpatrick, one of the researchers.

The social-roosting Indiana bat (right) may not be so lucky—the Santa Cruz researchers believe it will decline toward extinction.

Bats have survived for at least 52 million years, outliving woolly mammoths and saber-tooth cats, but now face threats such as human encroachment on the caves they use for sleeping and nesting, loss of watering sites in arid parts of the nation, as well as white-nose syndrome.

State and federal agencies are attempting to limit human activity in bat caves, which also may help reduce the spread of diseases from cave to cave.

Batman, as the new film undoubtedly will show, always triumphs over his enemies. For real bats—such as the long-eared bat (below), which is becoming locally extinct in some areas because of white-nose syndrome—the outcome is a lot more iffy.

The long ears on this big-eared, or long-eared, bat indicate a species that hunts by echolocation. During hibernation the animal may roll up its ears. Some 19 species of big-eared bat occur in the Old and New Worlds. Local populations in parts of the United States are disappearing because of white-nose syndrome. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Bonus Fact: What is the World’s Smallest Bat?

The world’s smallest bat is the bumblebee bat (also called Kitti’s hog-nosed bat), with a body less than an inch and a half long and weighing around 0.07 ounces. It feeds on insects.

Extra Credit Reading

• Most bats are nocturnal. What should you do if you see one in the daytime?
• Kids: Learn more about fruit bats, the world’s biggest bat species.
• A Kid Quiz on bats
• Creating Backyard Habitat: building a bat house.
• Sign up to make your backyard a Certified Wildlife Habitat

A Big Brown bat eating a meal worm. Photo credit: MABlevins, 2012

As I’m no expert on bats (I fall under the “Oh, they’re so cute!” category), I’ve asked the National Wildlife Federation’s Naturalist David Mizejewski to shine some light (no pun intended) on these fascinating, flying friends.

1) Should we be alarmed to see bats in our neighborhoods?

David: There are several species of bats common to the DC area so this sighting is not anything to be alarmed about. Bats play an important role in the ecosystem by preying on insects, some of which are pests (beetles and moths in particular, and also to some degree mosquitoes).

2) But what about seeing a bat during the daytime?

David: Bats are indeed nocturnal but just seeing one in daytime doesn’t mean anything is wrong with it.

3) What should we do if we see a bat in the daytime?

David:The rule of thumb when encountering any wild animal, at any time of the day, applies here: it’s ok to watch and appreciate, but never approach or try to handle it –let wildlife be wild.  If you follow this rule, you’ll never have a dangerous encounter with wildlife.

A Big Brown bat. Photo Credit: MABlevins, 2012

4) What should we do if a bat does indeed look “sick?”

David: If you see clear signs of illness such as erratic movement, loss of fear of humans, aggression, mouth foaming, etc. leave the area and report it to animal control.

5) How can we help bats?

David: Bats can use all the help we can give them.  We’ve trashed their habitat, and now an epidemic called White Nose Syndrome has wiped out about 6 million bats in just the last few years.  One easy way to help bats in your neighborhood is by putting up a bat box.

So regardless of what side of the “batty” spectrum you’re on– love them or fear them–you can become an animal ambassador by educating others on how to help protect bats (and yourself) if one ever lands itself on your window. Because as much as we all wish that bats were vampires (like those in the HBO series TrueBlood), bats are simple yet important creatures–and at the end of the day, merely misunderstood.

Wildlife-Friendly DMV: Keep it Local, Keep it Wild

Wildlife-Friendly DMV connects wildlife enthusiasts in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia to local wildlife and the National Wildlife Federation. I will share with you the wildlife and nature where I “roam,” and bring to life the stories of people around our region who speak up for wildlife.

Free-Tailed Bat, courtesy of Merlin Tuttle

Discovering the Beauty of Bats

I draw a complete blank when I try to conjure up the outcome of that event; I suspect it might not have ended well for the bat. The adults present that long ago night had not yet heard the news that bats are good neighbors, and they had a terrified daughter to protect! When fight or flight kicks in, thought checks out.

My experiences during the past several years at Bat Conservation International, talking with people about all kinds of situations involving bats, confirm that fear is still often the primary (if knee-jerk) reaction to bats. It’s impossible to stop fearing a phantom, and I’ve discovered that seeing live bats up close can have a profound and often immediate effect on people – both children and adults.

Bats can look similar to Chihuahuas!

My Favorite, the Mexican Free-Tailed Bat

Mexican Free-Tailed bat, credit: Dianne Odegard

My husband and I are bat rehabilitators, which is extra-curricular from my job doing educational outreach at BCI, though I bring our native bats to programs as often as possible to see that connection happen – this time, it’s a connection to something that is vulnerable and fragile, and increasingly relies on the good will of humans. They see the real, individual animal in place of the myth that was feared. Once that happens, they may care what happens to bats – and that can be the emergence of a conservationist.

Learn more about how you can celebrate EXTRA-ordinary species in your community and across the country during this year’s National Wildlife Week, March 19-25 >>

Here is my celebration of two great things about this world, wildlife and puppies, combined into one. Commence: Wildlife puppies!

Note: All of the below images were donated by photographers who entered the National Wildlife Photo Contest, which is currently open for people to enter, vote for and share photos.

Wolf Pup

Antarctic Fur Seal Pup

And another one…

Grey Fox Pup

>> Adopt your own wildlife puppy and help National Wildlife Federation make a difference for wildlife

African Wild Dog Puppies

Harbor Seal Pup

And one more…

Red Fox Pup

Meerkat Pups

Coyote Pup

Sea Lion Pups

Two more sea lion pups, trying to get a sea turtle to play.

Bat Pup

Sea Otter Pup

Pupfish

Ways to Celebrate National Puppy Day

The unofficial holiday National Puppy Day was designed to encourage the adoption of orphaned puppies and dogs in shelters across the country, so this Friday…

• Consider making your next pet one you rescue from a shelter. Search Petfinder for dogs of all ages.
• Not able to make room for a new hound in your home? Donate money, supplies or time to a local shelter.
• Want to help National Wildlife Federation protect wildlife puppies? Symbolically adopt a wild animal baby.

And lastly, in repayment for some amazing photo research help from my coworker (and because I couldn’t resist)…

Sleepy Puppy

Butterfly alighting on a fellow traveler (Photo: Anne Senft)

Dolphins – Dolphins are considered lucky in many different cultures. For Christians and Native Americans, the dolphin is a symbol of protection, and its image is said to bring good luck. The belief stems from the fact that ancient sailors who spent months or even years away from land found the sight of dolphins swimming around their ships to be the first indication that land was near.

Red Bats – In China, red bats are symbols of long life and amulets are worn as lucky charms that bring happiness. The red bat is thought to ward off evil. Five red bats can also represent the “five good fortunes” of health, longevity, love, wealth and virtue.

Crickets – A cricket on the hearth has been a sign of household luck for thousands of years. In the Far East as well as across Europe, it’s considered very bad luck to kill a cricket, even by accident. And, besides being good luck charms, crickets can also tell you the temperature.

Tortoises – Tortoises are considered a good luck symbol in Feng-Shui decorating. The tortoise is one of the four celestial animals in feng shui; the others are dragon, phoenix and tiger.

Scarabs- Dating back to Ancient Egypt, scarabs have been considered symbols of the rising sun and a protector from evil. The scarab is also a symbol of rebirth, regeneration and transformation.

Photo: Donated by Tianne Strombeck

Symbolically adopt a frog, dolphin or tortoise, by visiting NWF’s Adoption Center.

Attract butterflies, frogs and other wildlife to your backyard through NWF’s Certified Wildlife Habitat(r) program.

Source: 50 Good Luck Symbols From Around The World