Zoo introduces bats, celebrates birth of large bird specie

SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, Fla. (WSVN) -- The Miami Metro Zoo is celebrating the adoption of 175 misunderstood flying mammals and the birth of a unique African bird.

"We've got 125 short-tailed bats and 50 spear-nosed bats," said Metro Zoo spokesman Ron Magill describing the makeup of the nocturnal group, which comes to South Florida from New York's Bronx Zoo. "These are tropical, basically fruit-eating bats."

The spear-nosed variety's wingspan can measure up to 18 inches in length, while the reach for short-tailed bats is less than half that amount.

The zoo's new bat exhibit, which opened Wednesday, is intended to give visitors a better understanding of an animal that is very important to the environment. "There are so many myths surrounding bats, you know one that they are all blood suckers, that they are all vampire bats," Magill said. "The fact is, bats are one of the best at insect control, especially mosquito control, that we have in the world."

Zoo officials are also excited with the arrival of their 3-day-old, 90-gram Kori Bustard, a specie of flying bird known to be the world's heaviest, reaching weights in excess of 50 pounds. "This is the first one that was conceived and hatched at Miami Metro Zoo. We're so stoked," said Magill. "This guy hatched out Sunday. This is his big debut.'

(Copyright 2009 by Sunbeam Television Corp. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)