> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.possibilities.news/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # New York's Bats - URL: https://www.possibilities.news/new-yorks-bats/ - Published: 2026-08-20T11:00:55.000Z - Updated: 2026-08-20T11:00:55.000Z - Description: Have you ever woken up to a bat in your bedroom? - Author: Yessenia Funes **Support my work and upgrade to paid** [**here**](https://www.possibilities.news/#/portal/signup) **for as little as $5 a month. All summer long, new subscribers can sign up for** [**only $35 a year**](https://www.possibilities.news/summer-meltdown)**.** --- **LISTENING:** *last year's* [*Possibilities playlist*](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7oGjN7qmpRVTYlnSPym61Y?si=baf6ec1ca2274a00&ref=possibilities.news) **FEELING:** *annoyed but grateful* **SEEING:** *my cat indulge in the views outside* New York is home to more wildlife than people realize. I've seen chipmunks in my local park. I interviewed a wildlife expert a while back who told me that foxes and coyotes frequent our boroughs, too. One animal I had never considered? Bats. Turns out, the city is home to nine species. Nine!!! And I had the distinct pleasure of meeting one face to face Wednesday. Around 4 a.m., my husband woke up to a loud flapping in our bedroom. I realized his panic as soon as he said, "What the hell is that?!" I immediately recognized what was flying laps along our ceiling. Then, I proceeded to join in on the panic. Our landlord eventually brought pest control over, and the worker managed to catch the little guy. Still, we woke up to a bat in our bedroom!!! We have no idea how long it was in there or what it was up to while we were asleep. When that happens, doctors advise you to get the rabies shot. ****There's still time to take our** [****reader survey**](https://forms.gle/udEa4ng9y6adS3Ex8?ref=possibilities.news)****.** I'm closing this next week! Please take five minutes to fill this out. Your feedback will help me determine where to take this newsletter next. Rabies is almost always fatal, and most people who die from the disease in the U.S. [contract it from bats](https://archive.cdc.gov/www%5Fcdc%5Fgov/media/releases/2019/p0611-bats-rabies.html?ref=possibilities.news). As annoying as it is to have to deal with a series of shots (especially the $150 emergency room visit), I'm immensely grateful I have that option. Every year, [70,000 people](https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/around-world/index.html?ref=possibilities.news) die from rabies around the world. Outside the U.S., dogs are the primary vector, which speaks to the power of scientific advancements. Here, our pets get vaccinated. My cat just got his rabies booster Saturday. There's something ugly, though, about a science that provides for some and not others. In the U.S., our pets are afforded more healthcare than human beings beyond our borders. And when it comes to bats, these are creatures whose habitats are being lost at a devastating rate. Many species are now [threatened](https://tethys.pnnl.gov/publications/review-major-threats-challenges-global-bat-conservation?ref=possibilities.news). And did we forget? When bats come into contact with humans, we end up with [pandemics](https://www.possibilities.news/lessons-from-hantavirus/) like COVID-19\. As much as I'm skeeved out right now, I know we need bats. They pollinate plants and help control insect populations. Where do they go when their habitat is destroyed? Do New York City apartments become their refuge? I really hope not. 🌀 ## Currently Reading My [debut story for WIRED](https://www.wired.com/story/puerto-rico-is-rationing-water-it-could-avoid-it-by-harvesting-rainwater/?ref=possibilities.news) about the Puerto Rico water crisis is out. I focused on one underutilized solution: rainwater. If you want to hear on-the-ground testimony from people living through the disaster, Andrea González-Ramírez talks to Puerto Ricans about the painful realities they're facing [for The Cut](https://www.thecut.com/article/what-to-know-about-puerto-rico-water-crisis-drought.html?ref=possibilities.news). Tristan Ahtone's [latest investigation](https://grist.org/indigenous/texas-carrizo-comecrudo-juan-mancias-climate-indigenous-identity/?ref=possibilities.news) for Grist questions the Indigeneity of one climate activist in Texas. A wild, wild read! And an important one for journalists. We can't always take people at their word. The connection between extreme heat and mental illness deserves much more attention. Kudos to Hilary Beaumont and WIRED for covering [this crucial intersection](https://www.wired.com/story/heat-wave-schizophrenia/?ref=possibilities.news). ## Poetry **SCARED OF THE DARK** I've always been scared of the dark I don't trust what I can't see that mindset has sometimes saved me but it has also deceived me for in the night, the stars appear so do galaxies and the moon we dance in the dark so shamelessly freely full of splendor and boom so I know this fear is foolish I know the monsters don't lurk in the dark they walk in the daylight plainly and carefree among people like you and people like me I'm scared of the dark because I'm scared of the unknown uncertainty has never felt like home yet it's where I've lived for oh so long a life in the dark it's one I've loathed so I follow the light I follow the hope \-ylf- ****I'm thinking about moving over to Substack. Thoughts?** \- Yessenia x