MTBC’s Antoniya Hubancheva Award was established in honor of Antoniya Hubancheva—the recipient of our first student scholarship (thanks to a generous gift from our first director, Jeff Acopian). This support played a key role in helping “Toni” gain acceptance into the prestigious Max Planck Institute graduate program, where she excelled and successfully completed her Ph.D. in […]
On March 6, 2024, the Wall Street Journal presented findings from the University of Leeds in their opinion piece, “Why Scientists Love Chasing Bats; The threat to humans from animal viruses is small. The financial incentive to pretend otherwise is large.” They are of course referring to “virus hunters,” not researchers attempting to better understand […]
Response to Misleading Scientific American Bat Story I am responding to the article titled, “A Secret Weapon in Preventing the Next Pandemic: Fruit Bats,” which appeared in the August 2, 2023 issue of Scientific American. The title appears to promote a better appreciation of bats. However, the next sentence mistakenly claims that bats worldwide are […]
Believe it or not, bats have one of our planet’s finest records of living safely with humans. Despite frequent claims to the contrary, they harbor no more viruses than other animals.1 In fact, there is no historical support for claims that close association with bats increases risks of disease outbreaks in humans or other animals.2 Those […]
The Pocket Guide to the Mammals of Costa Rica is a comprehensive and exquisitely well-illustrated guide to the mammals of Costa Rica. Well-organized and easy to read, it is illustrated with a combination of outstanding photographs by top wildlife photographers and Fiona Reid’s unsurpassed drawings. Where key characters exist, they are well-illustrated. Unfortunately, some bats […]
“Excuse me, but I can’t resist asking what you’re doing?” The question came from a curious young woman, wondering why I was six feet off one of the Harmony Hotel’s well-managed footpaths. Not just off the path but squatting low as I peered up at the underside of a drooping palm leaf. When I responded, […]
Good science attempts to disprove, not prove, hypotheses1. Yet, for more than a decade, a growing number of virologists and epidemiologists have attempted to prove instead of test hypothesized disease threats from bats. Bats make tempting targets because they are found nearly everywhere and are easily sampled and widely feared. Furthermore, sensational speculation linking them […]
When Merlin discovered that he would have a day-long layover in Johannesburg, en route home from Zambia, he couldn’t resist contacting one of his favorite bat conservation colleagues, Dr. Peter Taylor. And, not surprisingly, Peter convinced him to extend his stay by several days. On his first visit in 2000, Merlin and Peter had joined […]
Zambia’s Kasanka National Park provides a key “refueling” stopover site for some 8 – 10 million straw-colored fruit bats, the world’s largest remaining mammal migration. It also supports an unusually diverse assortment of habitats, including a wide variety of woodlands and riparian forests interspersed with papyrus swamps, lakes and grassy floodplains. In addition to the […]
Our Join the Nightlife workshop in Central Texas featured a collaboration with Swift River Pecans and the Noble Research Institute, and was an enthusiastically acclaimed success by participants. Thirty-two attended from seven states, spending three days and nights learning from leading experts on bats and environmentally friendly pecan growing and agriculture. Speakers included Troy Swift, […]
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Madelline Mathis has a degree in environmental studies from Rollins College and a passion for wildlife conservation. She is an outstanding nature photographer who has worked extensively with Merlin and other MTBC staff studying and photographing bats in Mozambique, Cuba, Costa Rica, and Texas. Following college graduation, she was employed as an environmental specialist for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. She subsequently founded the Florida chapter of the International DarkSky Association and currently serves on the board of DarkSky Texas. She also serves on the board of Houston Wilderness and was appointed to the Austin Water Resource Community Planning Task Force.
Michael Lazari Karapetian has over twenty years of investment management experience. He has a degree in business management, is a certified NBA agent, and gained early experience as a money manager for the Bank of America where he established model portfolios for high-net-worth clients. In 2003 he founded Lazari Capital Management, Inc. and Lazari Asset Management, Inc. He is President and CIO of both and manages over a half a billion in assets. In his personal time he champions philanthropic causes. He serves on the board of Moravian College and has a strong affinity for wildlife, both funding and volunteering on behalf of endangered species.
