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While people expect to see rodents in the subway system, it's rare that a flying rodent makes it onto a train car. Apparently, a bat flew into a Brooklyn-bound L train at Eighth Avenue over the weekend. The bat actually flew into Rachel Elkind, who told the Post, "I thought: This is fake. Did someone just throw this plastic thing at me as a joke?... Then we saw it breathing." Another passenger, Patrick Roche, "used a magazine-subscription card to scoop it into a bag," and Gothamist is impressed: Roche actually found a use for those subscription cards. They set the bat free at First Street and Avenue A, which means it'll have to take the F next time.
Gothamist loves stories of animals taking mass transit; last August, a dog got onto a 2 train, and a police officer said he's seen "chicken, cats. Once a rat took a train downtown." It really is the best to get there!
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And there are birds living inside the Columbus Circle subway station! Not pigeons, but chickadees. I saw one flying overhead on the downtown A platform the other day. Not sure if they take the trains, though...
OMG. I don't care about macho appearances, I would fucking FLIP OUT if a bat flew into me on the subway.
If you ever find yourself under bat attack, do your best to keep it contained. If you're lucky enough to get it captured like in the story (Which I would NOT advise, I'll explain shortly), then keep it contained and DON'T SET IT FREE. Give it to the proper authorities. Otherwise, just try to stay away from it and get animal control in there if it's trapped. The reason: rabies. If they can test the animal for the deadly disease and find negative test results, you've just averted a series of inconvenient, painful, and expensive immunizations. Otherwise, there's a good chance that you'll be FORCED to get those shots.
Or, just stay the hell away from any bats if you can help it.
brianvan, are a huge number of bats rabid? Or is it just that they might carry it, but aren't affected by it? I never thought the rate of disease was so high that you should immediately call authorities, even if it weren't exhibiting any rabid characteristics.
Any bat that would actually fly into somebody should definitely be tested for rabies. I'm all for animal rights, but rabies is deadly serious. Once a person shows symptoms, he's as good as dead. There was a case a couple of years ago where somebody contracted rabies from a bat without even being bitten. People tend to think rabid animals have to be frothing at the mouth or showing other terrible symptoms, but that's just an advanced phase of the disease. An infected but still contagious animal can be asymptomatic for months.
According to this website,
"In early stages of the disease, animals behave abnormally. They may lose their natural wariness of people, show up in places they don't usually frequent or become active at odd times of day. Bats are normally active at night. Seeing a bat during the day could be a sign that something is wrong, but doesn't necessarily mean it has rabies...Bats also have remarkably accurate control of their flight, so another red flag is a bat that can't fly and repeatedly crashes into things."
It was irresponsible to release the bat instead of turning it over to authorities.
The bat most likely flew into the person after having been trapped in the car long enough to be disoriented and frightened. I doubt it was due to rabies. Kudos to the guy who set it free.
That's not your call to make. Are you a medical professional? If you're wrong and the bat did have rabies, somebody may die or at least need to be vaccinated. While rabies vaccinations aren't necessarily painful anymore, a month-long course of injections can cost over $1000 per person.
Anyone interested in seeing bats can join the NYC Caving Club. - www.metgrotto.com
We cave mostly in Upstate NY or often in PA, WV and all over the world.
And I second the kudos to the citizen who set the bat free.
Sounds like Brightliner has rabies. Go take a shot and calm down.
I must second Brightliners' facts (that most effectively convey my initial off-the-front-of-my-mind thoughts). First, rabies is a valid and serious public health threat. Even if you didn't know previously that it's important to keep any rabies-carrying-species animal detained in case of an unusual encounter, you do now. While releasing the bat is somewhat irresponsible (it could attack others), the point is that you are in severe personal danger yourself.
The second thing is that the shots are damn expensive even if you are covered with health insurance. The repeating visits nail you for a co-pay each time. I've heard stories where entire households needed the shots after letting loose a bat in the attic (anyone could have been nicked/infected in their sleep), and it racked up over a couple hundred dollars in co-pays alone. So, if you know the bat isn't rabid because it was captured and tested, you just saved yourself a whole lot of trouble.
And yes: they kill the bat to test it. Sad but true. Given the seriousness of the public health threat, though, I wouldn't pause to have the test done.
You just have to love these "city slicker" know-it-alls. Out of sight, out of mind, goes their thinking.
Is City Hall being alarmist?
What about this?
Bats are predominantly beneficial and colonies of healthy bats should be encouraged, no doubt about that. But you wouldn't be helping anyone by releasing a possibly rabid bat so it can go on to infect other people, pets or bats. Especially if you have no medical or scientific training whatsoever and all you can say is, "Well, it looked healthy to me."
Oh, and New York State, too. Note the steps they recommend after known or suspected contact with a bat. Nowhere does it say, "Just let it go."
the animal must be set freeee! all animals are creatures of light and joy. all of us can live in peace. illness can be cured with herbal tea and love. say no to oppression. lalalalala.
I'd like to know how many bats they have in the New York subway.
I'd like to know how many bats they have in the New York subway.