Unfounded claims that bats get stuck in people’s hair, that all bats have rabies, and Hollywood’s influence (for example, the concept of blood-sucking vampires) often put bats in a negative light.

OSAKA--Black creatures fly quickly around the dimly lit room, making fluttering noises. Looking at the bats through the glass of the Nocturnal Animal House at the Osaka Tennoji Zoo in the city’s ...