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Hunters of the night, they awake as the sun goes down and fly through the darkness in
search of prey.
No, we're not talking about vampires - we're talking about bats!
Bats are nocturnal, which means they are active at night. There are more than 1,100 species
of bats, making them the second-most common group of mammals on the planet. About one
species of mammal in every five in the whole world is a bat! Bats live almost everywhere,
except the Arctic, Antarctic, and a few isolated islands. They usually roost in caves, old
buildings, or trees, although they may also be found on the underside of bridges.
Bats are mammals, which means they are warm-blooded, they have fur, and they feed their babies
milk. Unlike any other kind of mammal, however, bats can FLY!
Bat wings and bird wings are different. Bird wings are like arms, with feathers growing
out of them to provide lift and allow flight. Bat wings are like hands with very long fingers.
Thin, leathery skin stretched between the 'fingers' is what makes the surface of the
wings. Because bats have more movement in their wings than birds do, they can change
direction faster than birds can, which makes it easier to catch their food.
Most bats eat insects: about 70% of all bats are insectivores. Many of the rest eat fruit
or nectar. Only three species drink blood.
Bats that drink blood are called 'vampire bats,' but there's no reason to fear these
small creatures. Native to Mexico and South America, two of the vampire bat species prefer
to drink blood from birds, and the third prefers blood from cattle. Although they may sometimes
drink human blood, people and animals bitten by vampire bats won't turn into vampires.
There are two main types of bats: megabats, and microbats.
Microbats are the smaller type of bats, ranging from the Bumblebee bat at 4 cm or less than
2 inches in length, all the way to the spectral bat, with a length of 13 centimeters or 5
inches and a wingspan up to a meter.
Microbats use echolocation. Although bats can see well with their eyes, they sometimes
fly into completely dark places, like deep caves, where navigating by sight is impossible.
Even when some light is present, finding flying insects in the dark is a difficult task.
Echolocation is something like the sonar used by ships and submarines to find things underwater.
When bats fly, they make small, high pitched noises, too high for humans to hear. The sound
waves travel away from the bat. If they hit something, they will echo, or bounce back.
From the shape of the echo, the bats know what is in front of them. This is why bats
don't crash into things in the dark.
Megabats are generally larger than microbats, although some, like the Mauritian tomb bat
may only grow to a length of 6 cm or 2.5 inches in length, the largest - the giant golden-crowned
flying fox - may have a wingspan of up to 1.7 meters or 5.6 feet).
Megabats are also called 'fruit bats' because they eat fruit or nectar. Because of this,
most megabats do not use echolocation, and so have much smaller ears compared to their
heads than microbats do. Megabats also have a much stronger sense of smell than microbats.
No matter what kind of bat they are, bats are important members of the ecosystems in
which they live. Bats that eat insects help control pests like mosquitoes. Just one bat
can eat up to 1,000 mosquitoes in an hour! Bats that drink nectar help pollinate plants
so that they can produce fruit. Over 500 plant species depend on bats for pollination, including
some species of mango, banana, and cocoa. Even bats that eat fruit help spread the seeds
from inside the fruit so that new plants can grow. Bats are amazing!
I hope you enjoyed learning about bats today. Goodbye till next time!