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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- There's a different kind of foreign exchange going on at West High School.
The school is on a migratory route for Mexican free-tailed bats. The tiny creatures can sometimes be seen popping out of school vents or hanging from wall fixtures.
"We're used to it. Or, most everybody is," said Zuleyma Sanchez, a 16-year-old junior from Salt Lake City. "Some girls just scream the heck out of themselves."
The bats show up for about three weeks each fall. They're stopping over on their way to Mexico where they spend the winter.
Utah is home to 18 species of bats. The Utah Division of Wildlife figures less than 1 percent of Utah bats carry the rabies virus.
The bats, though not in great numbers, have made their presence known at the high school.
"If you go to the top floor at night after a dance or football game, sometimes you can hear them tussling around," said Kevin Hinerman, 19, who graduated from the school in 2007. "It's fun. They're really not that big; smaller than a mouse."
Danette Chase, Hinerman's mother, said she was worried at first but feels more comfortable now.
"They haven't shut down the school yet," she said.
Years ago, the Salt Lake City School District built small bat houses -- dubbed "bat condos" by students -- on the school roof in the hopes that fewer will find their way into school halls.
Those that do are usually caught by net-wielding custodians and released outdoors.
Principal Margery Parker said the school warns students to steer clear of the flying mammals during their brief stay.
Bats have shown up at Utah schools before.
Earlier this year, the mother of a student filed a lawsuit over the presence of bats at Lehi High School. The suit alleged that the school didn't warn her son of the potential dangers of bats before he picked it up from the school lawn last year and spent several hours showing it to school mates.
The Utah Attorney General's office said the state can't be responsible for a student's carelessness.
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Information from: The Salt Lake Tribune
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
