These furry, winged mammals have been the subject of so much mythology, lore, and horror stories – it’s hard to know where to begin. For starters, there’s the old-wives’ tale that bats often get tangled up in long hair (simply untrue), and let’s not forget the widely held belief that most bats have rabies and will attack. Like other wild animals, bats can contract rabies but less than ½ of 1% of bats actually have the disease. It is rare to be bitten by a bat because they are shy and avoid people, biting only in self-defense if handled.