© Getty ImagesWhen a bat "dive-bombed" someone at Lakelse Lake near Terrace, B.C. recently, it was caught and tested positive for rabies.
It was a bizarre sight: a bat, normally a nocturnal animal, dive-bombIng a person in broad daylight near Lakelse Lake in Terrace, B.C.
When the bat was caught, it tested positive for rabies.
The individual wasn't harmed, but Dr. Melissa McLaws, a veterinary epidemiologist with the B.C. Centre for Disease Control, says rabies is a serious issue because it is "almost universally fatal if a person gets it or an animal gets it."
She says that less than one per cent of wild bats have rabies, but "we do find positive bats every year in every part of British Columbia".
Signs of rabies in bats
Dr. McLaws says that, in general, people should avoid touching bats — dead or alive.
"Bats with rabies are often quite vocal, and they might be more prone to abnormal behaviours such as actively seeking to bite other animals or people," she said.
Another sign?
"Bats are nocturnal animals so if you see a bat that's out during the day," she said. "Stay away from it."
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