Basketball Player Kills Bat During NBA Game

[Scott McCrea]

In San Antonio at a game between the Spurs and the Sacramento Kings, a bat repeatedly swooped around the court. Play was halted several times. Finally, a player swatted (killing?) the bat from the air.
Here's the video:



Maybe some Texas cavers (Crash?) could contact the Spurs and get a status update on the bat and suggest they make a donation to the NSS WNS Fund in memory of the bat. Seriously.

[Cheryl Jones]

good idea about suggesting the team make a donation for bats.

[Scott Shaw]

Maybe some Texas cavers (Crash?) could contact the Spurs and get a status update on the bat and suggest they make a donation to the NSS WNS Fund in memory of the bat. Seriously.

You're kidding aren't you?

[batrotter]

I'm not an environut but this is getting kind of sick.

Read here:

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spur ... b_hit.html

[Steven Johnson]

If it was a bird instead of a bat, what a different story it would be

[NZcaver]

It appears he initially stunned the bat, not killed it. Of course there are conflicting reports about whether it later died or flew away unharmed.

Not trying to buck the trend or anything... but hey I can understand a guy swatting at some animal he perceives to be repeatedly harassing him (and others). Personally I've never felt threatened by bats flying at me, but there's been a couple of bird incidents which were a different story. Some might consider the hand swat to be a natural reaction - an 'offensive defense'. On the other hand this guy Manu should have known better than to do it, especially on camera during a basketball game. But it is what it is, and I imagine he's learned not to try this again.

And this from me, who kinda likes bats but doesn't really give a cr@p about the NBA.

[Steven Johnson]

I actually find it kinda impressive from a quick-reflexes point of view that he was able to do it.

[Scott McCrea]

Update: Manu is getting rabies shots.

Team officials could not locate the bat after Saturday's game against Sacramento, so it could not be tested for disease. Which meant Ginobili will spend the next month getting a series of precautionary shots to protect against rabies.

"It was pretty funny at the time," Ginobili said before practice this afternoon. "Now, it's not. I have to get like a million shots."

"It wasn't so much fun," Ginobili said. "The bat survived. I'm fine. I'm not going to have rabies. The bat won."

http://blogs.mysanantonio.com/weblogs/c ... ts-fo.html

[Ralph E. Powers]

It appears he initially stunned the bat, not killed it. Of course there are conflicting reports about whether it later died or flew away unharmed.

Not trying to buck the trend or anything... but hey I can understand a guy swatting at some animal he perceives to be repeatedly harassing him (and others). Personally I've never felt threatened by bats flying at me, but there's been a couple of bird incidents which were a different story. Some might consider the hand swat to be a natural reaction - an 'offensive defense'. On the other hand this guy Manu should have known better than to do it, especially on camera during a basketball game. But it is what it is, and I imagine he's learned not to try this again.

And this from me, who kinda likes bats but doesn't really give a cr@p about the NBA.

I don't give a rats anus about the NBA either but while I am dismayed that this poor animal who somehow gotten inside was confused and trying to figure a way out amid the tremendous lights and noise of the game in progress, I do understand his *ahem* non-caver reaction to the little guy. Hopefully he DID just stun the animal and it was released outside by the guy the player gave it to... not likely but hopefully.
People in general still have an aversion to bats and it's sad.
Funny how there hasn't been a squib about the player picking up the bat and carrying it without a glove and passing it to yet another person without a glove.
Still I find it sad it happened that way.
People STILL need to be educated about these marvelous animals.

[Andy]

My guess is that some prankster brought the bat to the game and released it. Think about it - Halloween day, game time and a bat flying around. Too much of a coincidence.

[Chads93GT]

Don't worry, PETA beat you guys to the punch on going after them.

[Cheryl Jones]

This message was sent from BCI, Nov 10.

Last week, Bat Conservation International suggested that members help turn the
widely publicized bat-swatting incident at a San Antonio Spurs basketball game
into an educational message: a bat should never be touched with bare hands. Thanks
to those of you who responded, Manu sent a very positive message to the public.

He not only emphasized that bats should not be handled, but also mentioned the
importance of bats to the ecosystem. We couldn't have hoped for a better response!

Thanks to all of you who helped by writing to the NBA.

Here's Ginobili's complete statement:

"Just wanted to give you guys an update on the bat situation. As many of you
already know, it wasn't a great idea. Not only for the fact that bats are great
part of the ecosystem, but also because some carry rabies, which is an incurable
disease. That's why I had to get vaccinated today (and it wasn't just one shot).

Only 0.5% to 3% of the bat populations carry the disease, but if you can't find
the animal, it's not recommended to take any risks [because] it can kill you!

Since after the incident, the usher took it outside and the bat flew away (not
lying!), there was no way of knowing if he was infected or not, so I had to do
the safe thing. Finally, please, don't do it at home or anywhere; avoid contact
with bats, skunks, raccoons, rats and animals like that."

[Chads93GT]

I have had bats land on me while surveying, crawl around on me till I picked them off and tossed them in the air so they would fly away.

I didn't think you could get rabies by just touching something. Am I mistaken? Should I get shots too or is this guy just............over reacting.

[ArCaver]

I have had bats land on me while surveying, crawl around on me till I picked them off and tossed them in the air so they would fly away.

I didn't think you could get rabies by just touching something. Am I mistaken? Should I get shots too or is this guy just............over reacting.

I'd say overreacting for the most part. The shots are damned expensive, but so is dying from rabies. I found out my insurance would pay for the pre-exposure shots a few years ago so I took them. They have also paid for the subsequent titer tests. One thing that made me consider the shots is hearing the bite from a bat can be nearly painless. In the past I've had enough land and crawl on me in confined spaces that I could never be sure I hadn't been bitten. You need not be bitten anyway, just saliva from the bat getting into a cut or abrasion could infect you. If you watch bats you'll see some grooming constantly while awake so it stands to reason there's a chance of some saliva on their fur.

[Chads93GT]

Ahh gotcha. Didn't know about the saliva. Granted I haven't had any on my bare skin, but you never know. People tend to freak out and over react.