‘Halloween’ animals’ bad reputation could damage conservation efforts

Scary tales of big creepy-crawlers, creatures that go “hoo” late in the night, blood-sucking vampires, and half-human-half-wolves, make their annual circulation during the Halloween season.

But one organization says ‘Halloween’ species get an unfair reputation, with some animals needing protection.

The Nature Conservancy of Canada says although legends of owls, bats, vampires, wolves, coyotes, and werewolves make for great stories, it can actually promote “negative and fearful stereotypes of these animals.”

Canada has 18 species of bats, including 15 in B.C., and the conservancy says none drink blood. Instead, they get rid of a familiar pest that does drink blood — mosquitoes.

It added the little brown bat can eat 600 mosquitoes in the span of one hour.

The Vancouver Aquarium said in a tweet that bats are also important pollinators.

Some people have a fear of bats or might just think they’re gross, but turn the lights on and they’re actually pretty darn cute – we made this behind-the-scenes video to prove it! Herbivore bats like these Jamaican fruit bats are important pollinators. #BatWeek pic.twitter.com/lNXWJWW5lf

— Vancouver Aquarium (@vanaqua) October 30, 2022

The conservancy says the “season of fright” perpetuates unrealistic portrayals of animals, including movies, costumes, and lawn decorations — it says each aspect adds to misunderstanding the creatures, resulting in fear.

“This fear can complicate the effort to gather support for the protection and survival of those species…Many wildlife species depicted this time of year are actually species at risk,” a news release from the conservancy said.

It added this all contributes to the amount of knowledge the public has about the animal, and can negatively impact conservation efforts.

“It’s really sad that many of these species are misunderstood. Instead of fearing these animals, we should actually be scared for them because many of the species we are talking about are at-risk or endangered,” Megan Quinn, coordinator for conservation biology with the organization explained.

Quinn adds the misunderstanding can lead to actually endangering the species.

Related Articles: 

• Invasive plant is killing B.C.’s bats

“Several bat populations, for example, have seen huge declines,” Quinn added. “If people are afraid of something, they may not really understand why we need to protect it or, even worse, be openly hostile to these creatures that are just trying to survive.”

Sam Knight with the Nature Conservancy of Canada, explains this can promote stereotypes about the animals.

“People are sometimes afraid of things that we don’t get to interact with. A lot of these species, such as owls and bats, are nocturnal. They come out at night, so we don’t get a real good look at them and don’t have a chance to really understand and appreciate them,” Knight explained.

Quinn explains one common fear stems from a popular Halloween-time villain.

“We have vampires to thank for our fear of bats,” Quinn said. Instead she explains, “They are all insectivores, meaning they eat insects,” said Quinn.

But it’s not only bats that are negatively stereotyped, Knight explains owls also part of the unfair analysis.

“They look spooky because they have big round eyes. Their call is very haunting, and they are silent when they fly, which is kind of eerie and add that overall mystique,” said Knight. “However, owls do a lot of very good things for our ecosystems. They are fantastic at keeping rodent populations in check and are a key part of the forest ecosystem.”