- Bats are ancient animals that have been
around at least 50 million years. Despite
this incredible length of time they still
look much like their fossil ancestors.
- Bats are the only mammal that is truly
capable flight. Of the nearly 4000 species of
mammals, they make up 25%, that means there
are close to 1000 species of bats in the world.
- The scientific name for bats is Chiroptera
which means "hand-wing". Bats are either classified as Megachiroptera
(large hand-wing) or Microchiroptera
(small hand-wing).
- Bats are gentle mammals and will typically
bite only if frightened or provoked. Many
species are social and some have even been known
to care for each other's young.
- The smallest mammal in the world is the Bumblebee
bat from Thailand, which weighs less than a penny. The
largest bats are the flying foxes,
one of which has a six foot wing span.
- Bats eat a large variety of foods. Different species of bats consume fish, frogs,
insects, fruits, small mammals and even other bats. Only
3 species of bats are vampire bats, they are
found in Central and South America, these bats feed on the blood of
birds and mammals.
- Many tropical bats are sometimes called
keystone species. Many plants rely on bats to
spread their seeds and to pollinate flowers. Some
of these plants include columnar cacti, bananas, mangoes, cashews,
dates, figs, and agave. Agave is used to
produce tequila, the seed production in this plant drops substantially
without bats as pollinators.
- Bat droppings (guano) is an excellent
fertilizer and is mined for that purpose in some countries. Salt peter used in artillery shells was once made
from bat guano.
- Contrary to popular belief bats have very
good eyesight. In addition to vision bats use sound (echolocation) to navigate in
the dark and find food.
- Bats reproduce very slowly, most females have
only one pup per year. Bats that survive to
adulthood may live as long as 30 years. The
oldest recorded bat is the little brown bat, at 34 years old.
- A group of bats is called a colony and bats
live in roosts. Their natural roosts are
trees (where they hang from branches, under loose bark, and in moss)
and caves. Due to loss of natural roosts and habitat many species have learned to live in
man-made structures such as buildings, bridges and culverts.
- Forty-five species of bats are found in the
United States. At least 6
of these are on the Endangered Species List, many others (nearly 40%)
are classified as threatened, rare, or status undetermined.
There
are 18 species in Florida
Fly
By Night, Inc. is recognized by the IRS as a Section 501(c)(3) non-profit / tax-exempt organization.
Donations
are tax-deductible and all donated funds directly support our bat
conservation efforts. CH12360
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