Bats are unique animals. Here are
some interesting facts about bats:
· There are nearly 1,000 species of bats in
the world. However, bats are basically
tropical animals and only about 40 kinds
of bats live in North America.
· Bats have been around a long time, since
the age of dinosaurs. Ancient bats
resembled those living today. Except for
the most extreme desert and polar
regions, bats today live in almost every
kind of habitat worldwide.
· Bats have some amazing abilities:
Mexican free-tailed bats can fly 10,000
feet high. Townsends-big eared bats
can pluck insects from foliage.
Hibernating little brown bats can stop
breathing for almost an hour during
hibernation to reduce their energy needs.
Fishing bats have an echolocation
system so sophisticated they can detect a
minnows fin as fine as a human hair.
The Honduran white bat, a colorful
snow-white bat with yellow nose and
ears, cuts large leaves to make tents to
protect its small colonies from drenching
jungle rains.
· Bats eat a variety of foods from flower
nectar to fish, small mammals, and
insects. Bats also come in an array of
colors and sizes and shapes. The spotted
bat, which lives in Texas, is black with
a white patch on each shoulder and the
rump. Other kinds of bats have patterns
so bright they are called butterfly bats.
Some bats have long angora-like fur
varying in color from red to black and
white. The bumblebee bat of Thailand
weighs less than a penny. Some of the
large bats known as flying foxes such as
those living in Indonesia have wingspans
up to 6 feet. Flying foxes live only in
tropical and subtropical areas including
Australia and eat primarily fruit and
nectar. Other species of bats are
carnivorous, preying on fish, frogs,
mice, and birds. The fabled vampire bats
feed on blood. There are only 3 kinds of
vampire bats and all live in Latin
America. However, most bats feed on
insects 70% of all bats are
insectivorous. All bats living in the
United States and Canada eat insects,
except 3 species of nectar-feeding bats
living along the Texas-Arizona border.
· Because they consume quantities of
bugs such as mosquitoes, bats are a
natural form of insect control. For
instance, one little brown bat can catch
600 mosquitoes or more an hour.
· Many garden pests can hear bats and
will avoid areas where bats are looking
for a meal.
· Desert ecosystems rely on nectar-feeding
bats to pollinate giant cacti, including
the organ pipe and saguaro of Arizona.
· Agricultural plants from bananas to
cashews, dates, and figs rely on bats for
pollination and seed dispersal.
· Despite bats many benefits including
pollination and insect control, their
populations are declining nearly
everywhere. More than half of
American bats species are considered
endangered due to disturbance of
roosting bats in caves, loss of habitat
including forested areas, and
inappropriate use of pesticides.
· Loss of bats destabilizes ecosystems and
can cause people to increase their use of
chemicals to control insects. Excessive
use of chemicals can be harmful to
human health and harmful to wildlife.
http://www.wvu.edu/~agexten/wildlife/bats.pdf
