Are there vampire bats @ Dunkirk?

[walteye]

Was at eastern Erie out of Dunkirk for 3 days this week and on Sunday I was attacked by a bat while fishing (and this is the 2nd time). While fishing the MWC in 2008 my wife and I were buzzed for about 15 minutes by a bat and I laughed at my wife for cowering under the console. Well-MY WIFE KNOWS BATS BETTER THAN ME!
Fishing the same general area by myself on Sunday I was buzzed by a bat for about 15 minutes again until IT LANDED ON MY CHEST! No kidding-scared the living sh-t out of me. I brushed it off to the floor of the boat and used my hat to flick it away. It took off and continued to buzz the boat-eventually landing on the bow and crawling into the empty space on my trolling motor base. Obviously planning it's next attack on me. I gathered enough courage to go to the bow with my Boca grip and grabbed it-while it screeched I threw it in the water.
Because it landed on my chest-was it going to bite me? Crawl up to my neck?
Am I lucky to be alive? And not fear sunlight?
Walteye

[SinOrSwim]

Might want to talk to your Dr. Many places are now giving rabies vaccine for exposure and not even bites now. They use an immune globulin along with the vaccine and then the vaccine again on days 3,7 and 14. If you have immune problems they add one more.

Either way, I would contact my Dr. to ask their opinion.

[fishboat]

A little light reading:

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/25/na.../25rabies.html

This happened a ways north of here. I've seen the girl now that's she's "recovered" and she is messed up pretty bad. Sort of like the aftermath of a severe stroke. I'd be seeing a doctor..like yesterday.

[Juls]

More than likely you were not the target of a vicious attack, but rather the target, because you were a solid thing on a body of water and it wanted to land and rest. It was lost and confused. They are blind and only "see" objects with their clicking sounds...as the sounds return to them it tells them how far the object is away from them. You were a large "return", so it wanted to land on you.

Why it was out there in the first place is anyone's guess.


Juls

[walteye]

One more thing-about 2 hours later the bat came back-and just buzzed around for about a minute-but it was one of the longest minutes I could remember. I was about 8 miles off the coast-and like I said-it wasn't the first time I was buzzed. Not only were we buzzed at the MWC in 2008-but I talked to another guy that was buzzed the same day-and he was no where by us.
There were occasional butterflies that came by the boat-and when i saw them out of the corner of my eye-I was ducking!
Walteye

[Juls]

Originally Posted by walteye

One more thing-about 2 hours later the bat came back-and just buzzed around for about a minute-but it was one of the longest minutes I could remember. I was about 8 miles off the coast-and like I said-it wasn't the first time I was buzzed. Not only were we buzzed at the MWC in 2008-but I talked to another guy that was buzzed the same day-and he was no where by us.
There were occasional butterflies that came by the boat-and when i saw them out of the corner of my eye-I was ducking!
Walteye

LOL...you sound like my Mom...she is terrified of bats.

I think they're kind of cute.....and, necessary.

Juls

[Suzuki]

All I know if if it bites you the hospital should be your next visit. Make sure that thing didnt prick you even a little bit in the chest. Sounds rabid and people have died from what they though insignificant bat bites or not even realize they were bitten.

[GMC Jon]

Last week, I looked up on the wall in the shop where I work. For the first time in 27 years, there was a bat on the wall. Of course everyone at work had to come over to look at it. One guy had a bright flashlight and shined it on the bat until it eventually woke up. Then it started to fly around the shop, but everytime it turned around and came back, it seemed to be aiming for me. After about 5 minutes, it flew out the overhead door.

I figured I should call my ex and tell her to warn me next time she flys in to town.

[ChuckD]

If a bat has any contact with your body, you should make every attempt possible to kill it and keep it. It is much easier to test the bat for rabies than go to the hospital and recieve MANY shots for rabies vaccination. You don't want the shots...

I guess most people have no clue they were bitten by a bat. It can be completely painless and sometimes no sign of being bitten.

[Dacotah Eye]

C'mon Juls, bats really aren't blind, but they do use sonar to locate prey in the dark.