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Flying through the night, I watch over this world,
在黑夜中飞翔，我俯视脚下的世界，
a silent guardian, a watchful protector, a dark knight, I'm...
仿佛一个沉默的守护者，一个警惕的保护者，一个黑夜骑士，我就是....
Okay, fine. So, I'm not Batman. I'm just a bat.
好吧，我不是蝙蝠侠，我就是只蝙蝠。
But like Batman, I'm often misunderstood.
但是像蝙蝠侠一样，我常常被误解。
People think I'm scary, strange and dangerous.
人们认为我可怕、怪异甚至危险。
If they only knew my story, though, I'd be cheered as a hero.
但是如果他们知道我的故事的话，他们会觉得我是个英雄的。
When people think of bats, many think of vampires who want to suck their blood.
当人们想到蝙蝠，会联想到渴望吸他们血的吸血鬼。
But the truth is that out of over 1200 bat species, only three are vampire bats.
但是实际上，在1200多种蝙蝠中，只有3种蝙蝠靠吸血维生。
Out of these three, only one prefers the blood of mammals, and even these bats mostly feed on cattle.
而这3种吸血蝙蝠也更偏好哺乳动物的血，甚至大都也仅仅靠牛等牲口的鲜血维生。
Maybe that still doesn't seem so great, but vampire bats can be a great help to humans.
可能他们看起来还是不太友好，但是吸血蝙蝠可以在很大程度上帮助人类。
A chemical known as desmoteplase found in vampire bat saliva helps break down blood clots,
我们在吸血蝙蝠的唾液里找到的一种化学物质，去氨普酶，能够促进凝血的疏通，
and is being tested by recovering stroke victims.
康复的中风病人已经证明了这确实有效。
Of the remaining 1000+ species of bats, about 70% feed on insects.
其余剩下的1000多种蝙蝠中，70%都以捕食昆虫为生。
These bats help control the real vampires:
这些蝙蝠帮忙遏制了真正的吸血鬼，
mosquitos, whose nasty bites are not just annoying but spread diseases, like West Nile virus.
例如在你身上留下烦人的叮伤，同时又传播了西尼罗河病菌的蚊子。
A single little brown bat can eat 1000 insects every hour,
一只棕色小蝙蝠每小时能吃1000多只昆虫，
and a colony of Mexican free-tailed bats can eat several tons of moths in just one night.
而一群墨西哥无尾蝙蝠一晚上就可以吃掉几吨的蛾子。
In the United States alone, bats provide an estimated 3.7 billion dollars worth of free pest control for farmers,
仅在美国，蝙蝠就为农民们省下了将近37亿美元的除虫预算，
which benefits everyone who eats the foods that they grow.
这让每个食用农作物的人都受益。
Fruit bats, also called megabats because of their large size,
果蝠，因其体型之大又被称为狐蝠，
are important for the role they play in plant pollination.
对植物授粉过程有着很大的贡献。
By traveling between flowers while feeding on nectar and fruits,
在穿梭于花丛中吃蜜和果实的同时，
these bats transport the pollen and seeds that help plants reproduce.
这些蝙蝠传播的花粉和种子能够帮助植物繁殖。
In Southeast Asia, for example, the cave nectar bat is the only pollinator of the durian fruit.
比如在东南亚，长舌果蝠是榴莲树唯一的授粉者。
Other bats pollinate peaches, bananas, and the agave plants that tequila is made from.
其他蝙蝠也为桃子、香蕉等植物授粉，用来酿造龙舌兰酒的龙舌兰属植物也依靠蝙蝠的帮助。
Without them, many of our food plants would be unable to produce the tasty fruits we enjoy.
如果没有它们，很多植物就不能生长出美味的果实。
As heroes of the ecosystem, bats have their own unique utility belts.
蝙蝠用它们自己的方式守护着自然界。
Bats have been a source of inspiration for the design of flying robots and even an energy-efficient spy plane,
蝙蝠不仅是设计飞行机器人的模本，也启发了人们设计出了节能间谍机，
as they are the only mammal capable of true powered flight.
因为它们是唯一真正利用动力来推动飞翔的哺乳动物。
Echolocation, a type of biological sonar, is also used by bats as a way to navigate and find prey in the dark.
回声定位法，一种声纳系统，也被蝙蝠用来导航和在黑暗中寻找猎物。
Although there's a common misconception that bats are blind, in truth, all species of bats have sight.
虽然蝙蝠常被误解为瞎子，但是实际上蝙蝠都有视力。
And some have even adapted large eyes to see better in dim lighting.
有些蝙蝠甚至长着很大的眼睛，用于捕捉夜晚暗淡的光线。
Many people worry about getting infected by bats, and like any other animals, bats can carry diseases, like rabies.
很多人担心被蝙蝠传染疾病，认为它们像其他动物一样也携带很多病毒，例如狂犬病。
In reality, though, less than .5% of all bats carry this virus.
实际上，只有小于0.5%的蝙蝠携带这种病毒。
That's about the same odds as getting the same result on a coin flip eight times in a row.
这几乎与抛8次硬币都得到相同结果的概率一样小。
The perception that bats are often diseased may come from the fact that sick bats,
蝙蝠传染疾病的这种想法也许来源于患病的蝙蝠，
who may show unusual behavior, emerge during the daytime, or be unable to fly, are more likely to be encountered by people.
病蝙蝠一般行动异常，多在白天活动，或不能飞行，通常更容易被人们发现。
So a good way to protect yourself is to protect bats as well,
所以保护自己最好的方式是保护蝙蝠。
keeping them healthy, protecting their habitats, and reducing their risk of transmitting disease.
让它们健康，保护它们的家，并降低它们传播疾病的危险性。
In North America, bats are threatened by a devastating sickness called white-nose syndrome.
在北美，蝙蝠的生命被一种名叫白鼻症的致命疾病所威胁。
This fungal infection causes bats to wake up while hibernating during a winter.
这种真菌感染会让蝙蝠在冬眠的时候醒来。
Unable to find food, they expend large amounts of energy, and eventually starve to death.
由于无法找到食物，它们会消耗大量的能量，最终饿死。
White-nose syndrome has wiped out entire caves full of bats, with a mortality rate that can exceed 90%.
白鼻症曾经导致了一整个山洞的蝙蝠死亡，并且致命率高达90%以上。
Climate change and habitat destruction also pose serious threats to bat populations.
气候的变化和家园遭受破坏也同样威胁着蝙蝠的数量。
For example, in January 2014, a record heat wave in Australia caused over 100,000 bats to die from heat exhaustion.
例如，在2014年1月，热流袭击了澳大利亚，超过十万只蝙蝠都死于中暑导致的衰竭。
Some people just want to watch the world burn,
有些人就想看着世界被热浪席卷，
and bats all over the world are threatened by damage to the places that we call home,
而世界各地蝙蝠的生命会因家园的破坏而受到威胁，
including mangrove swamps, old-growth forests, and, of course, bat caves.
包括红树沼泽、原始森林，当然，还有蝙蝠山洞。
So even though I'm the hero of the story, I do need to be saved.
所以即使我是故事中的英雄，我也需要被拯救。
And now that you know the true story about us bats, you can learn how to protect such heroic animals.
所以现在你知道我们蝙蝠真正的故事，希望你能学会如何保护我们。
Install a properly designed bat box, one of the easiest ways to provide shelter for bats.
可以设计一个巧妙的蝙蝠盒子，一个最简单的蝙蝠避难所。
Discourage the use of pesticides, which can harm bats when we try to feed on the insects you want to get rid of in the first place.
当试图将蝙蝠赖以为生的昆虫杀死时，减少杀虫剂的使用也能保护蝙蝠。
Avoid going into caves where you might disturb hibernating bats,
避免进入有蝙蝠生存的山洞，
and always decontaminate your gear after visiting a cave.
并且尽量不破坏你所参观的山洞。
If you have unwanted bats living in an attic or barn, contact your local government to safely and humanely relocate us.
如果我们成为了你仓库里的不速之客，请联系地方政府并安全地迁移我们。
And if you come across a bat, do not attempt to handle it, but instead, call Animal Control.
当你发现一只蝙蝠时，不要尝试去打扰它，请叫动物保护协会的人来处理。
Batman might want to keep his identity secret,
蝙蝠侠也许可以将他的身份隐藏起来，
but a great way to help real bats is by continuing to learn about them
但是真正让蝙蝠安全的一个方式是去认识它们，
and spreading the truth that they are real heroes, even if their good deeds are often unseen.
并且让人们知道它们是真正的英雄，即使它们正义的本质常常被隐藏起来。
