a silent guardian, a watchful protector, a dark knight, I'm...

一個無聲的保衛者，一個警覺的保護者，一個黑暗騎士，我是...

Okay, fine, so, I'm not Batman. I'm just a bat,

好了好了，我不是蝙蝠俠。我只是一隻蝙蝠

but like Batman, I'm often misunderstood.

可是就像蝙蝠俠，我常常被誤會

People think I'm scary, strange and dangerous.

人們覺得我是可怕的、奇怪的、危險的

If they only knew my story, though, I'd be cheered as a hero.

就只要他們知道我的故事的話，我會被當成英雄稱頌

When people think of bats, many think of vampires who want to suck their blood,

當想到蝙蝠時，很多人會聯想到想吸他們血的吸血鬼

but the truth is that out of over 1200 bat species, only three are vampire bats.

可是事實上在超過 1200 種蝙蝠種類裡，只有三種是吸血蝙蝠

Out of these three, only one prefers the blood of mammals,

在這三種之中，只有一種嗜好哺乳動物的血

and even these bats mostly feed on cattle.

即使是這一種蝙蝠也大多數以牛血為食

Maybe that still doesn't seem so great, but vampire bats can be a great help to humans.

也許這樣還是覺得不怎麼棒，可是吸血蝙蝠可以對人們很有幫助的

A chemical known as desmoteplase found in vampire bat saliva helps break down blood clots,

在吸血蝙蝠的唾液裡可以找到一種幫助溶解血栓叫做“去氨普酶”的化學成分

and is being tested by recovering stroke victims.

正被試用在恢復中的中風患者身上

Of the remaining 1000+ species of bats, about 70% feed on insects.

在其餘的 1000 多種蝙蝠中，大約 70% 是以昆蟲為食

These bats help control the real vampires: mosquitoes,

這些蝙蝠幫助控制真正的吸血鬼－蚊子－

whose nasty bites are not just annoying but spread diseases, like West Nile virus.

牠們惱人的叮咬不僅煩人也傳播疾病，例如西尼羅病毒

A single little brown bat can eat 1000 insects every hour,

光一隻鼠耳蝠每小時可吃掉 1000 隻昆蟲

and a colony of Mexican free-tailed bats can eat several tons of moths in just one night.

一群墨西哥游離尾蝠可一夜裡吃掉數噸的飛蛾

In the United States alone, bats provide an estimated 3.7 billion dollars worth of free pest control for farmers,

光是在美國，蝙蝠為農夫提供大約 37 億價值的免費害蟲管制

which benefits everyone who eats the foods that they grow.

每個吃他們種的食物的人均受益

Fruit bats, also called megabats because of their large size, are important for the role they play in plant pollination.

狐蝠（因為牠們的身材龐大也叫巨蝠）在傳播植物的花粉上扮演重要的角色

By traveling between flowers while feeding on nectar and fruits,

當在覓食花粉和果實時，藉著在花朵中穿梭

these bats transport the pollen and seeds that help plants reproduce.

這些蝙蝠傳送幫助植物繁殖的花粉和種子

In Southeast Asia, for example, the cave nectar bat is the only pollinator of the durian fruit.

例如在東南亞，長舌果蝠是榴蓮的唯一授粉者

Other bats pollinate peaches, bananas, and the agave plants that tequila is made from.

其他的蝙蝠替桃子、香蕉、還有用來作龍舌蘭酒的龍舌蘭授粉

Without them, many of our food plants would be unable to produce the tasty fruits we enjoy.

沒有了牠們，許多我們的食用植物會無法生產出我們享用的果實

As heroes of the ecosystem, bats have their own unique utility belts.

作為生態系統的英雄，蝙蝠擁有牠們獨特的工具腰帶

Bats have been a source of inspiration for the design of flying robots and even an energy-efficient spy plane,

蝙蝠一直是飛行機器－甚至是省電偵查機－設計的靈感來源

as they are the only mammal capable of true powered flight.

因為牠們是唯一可以靠自己能力飛行的哺乳動物

Echolocation, a type of biological sonar, is also used by bats as a way to navigate and find prey in the dark.

回聲定位（一種生物聲納）是被蝙蝠在黑暗中用來當導航和尋找獵物的方法

Although there's a common misconception that bats are blind, in truth, all species of bats have sight.

雖然一般誤解蝙蝠是看不見，事實上所有種類的蝙蝠是有視力的

And some have even adapted large eyes to see better in dim lighting.

有些甚至演化出在微弱的光中能夠看得比較清楚的大眼睛

Many people worry about getting infected by bats,

很多人擔憂會被蝙蝠感染

and like any other animals, bats can carry diseases, like rabies.

像其他的動物一樣，蝙蝠可傳染疾病－如狂犬病

In reality though, less than 0.5% of all bats carry this virus.

實際上，少於 0.5% 的蝙蝠攜帶這種病毒

That's about the same odds as getting the same result on a coin flip eight times in a row.

這跟拋擲銅板連續八次得到同一面的機率是一樣的

The perception that bats are often diseased may come from the fact that

這種蝙蝠常常是有病的概念，可能來自於

sick bats, who may show unusual behavior, emerge during the daytime, or be unable to fly,

那些（表現異常行為）白天會出來、或無法飛行的生病蝙蝠

are more likely to be encountered by people.

比較可能被人們遇到的關係

So a good way to protect yourself is to protect bats as well,

所以一個保護自己的好方法就是保護蝙蝠

keeping them healthy, protecting their habitats,

讓牠們保持健康、保護牠們的棲息地

and reducing their risk of transmitting disease.

以及降低牠們傳播疾病的風險

In North America, bats are threatened by a devastating sickness called white-nose syndrome.

在北美，蝙蝠被一種叫做白鼻症的毀滅性疾病所威脅

This fungal infection causes bats to wake up while hibernating during a winter.

這種黴菌感染導致蝙蝠在冬天冬眠時期醒過來

Unable to find food, they expend large amounts of energy, and eventually starve to death.

無法找到食物，牠們消耗大量的體力，最後餓死

White-nose syndrome has wiped out entire caves full of bats, with a mortality rate that can exceed 90%.

白鼻症的死亡率可以超過 90%，已使得好幾個洞穴的蝙蝠被滅絕了

Climate change and habitat destruction also pose serious threats to bat populations.

氣候變化及棲息地的破壞也對蝙蝠數目造成嚴重的威脅

For example, in January 2014, a record heat wave in Australia caused over 100,000 bats to die from heat exhaustion.

例如 2014 年一月，一個在澳洲破紀錄的熱浪造成了超過100,000 隻蝙蝠中熱衰竭死亡

Some people just want to watch the world burn,

有些人就想要看著這世界燃燒

and bats all over the world are threatened by damage to the places that we call home,

世界各地的蝙蝠受到棲息地被破壞的威脅，

including mangrove swamps, old-growth forests, and, of course, bat caves.

包括了紅樹林、原始森林，當然以及蝙蝠洞穴

So even though I'm the hero of the story, I do need to be saved.

所以儘管我是這故事中的英雄，我是需要被拯救的

And now that you know the true story about us bats,

現在你知道我們蝙蝠真正的故事了，

you can learn how to protect such heroic animals.

你們可以學習怎麼保護如此英勇的動物

Install a properly designed bat box, one of the easiest ways to provide shelter for bats.

安置一個設計妥當的蝙蝠箱子，是其中一個最容易提供住所給蝙蝠的方法

Discourage the use of pesticides,

勸人家不要使用殺蟲劑

which can harm bats when we try to feed on the insects you want to get rid of in the first place.

當我們想吃你一開始要除掉的昆蟲時，也會傷害到我們蝙蝠

Avoid going into caves where you might disturb hibernating bats,

盡量不要進入你可能會打擾到在冬眠中蝙蝠的洞穴

and always decontaminate your gear after visiting a cave.

還有每次參觀洞穴後要消毒你攜帶的裝備

If you have unwanted bats living in an attic or barn,

如果你在閣樓或穀倉裡有不速之客蝙蝠

contact your local government to safely and humanely relocate us.

聯絡你的當地有關機關來安全且人道地重新安置我們

And if you come across a bat, do not attempt to handle it, but instead, call Animal Control.

還有如果你發現一隻蝙蝠，不要企圖自行處理，直接撥電話給動物管制局

Batman might want to keep his identity secret,

蝙蝠俠可能要保持身份神秘

but a great way to help real bats is by continuing to learn about them and spreading the truth that they are real heroes,

可是一個幫助真的蝙蝠的好方法是繼續認識牠們以及宣揚牠們是真正英雄的事實

even if their good deeds are often unseen.

儘管牠們的善行不常被看到