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Mammals
Bats 
Flying Mammals
There are the approximately 1,000 different kinds of bats. They are classified in the order Chiroptera which means "hand-wing" and they belong to the Pteropodidae family. They are the only flying mammals.
The wings of each bat is made of strong skin stretched between elongated fingers. The thumb of a bat’s hand protrudes from the top of the wing and is used for hanging on to various objects.
Bats have a tail with skin stretched between it and the bat’s legs. Bats vary greatly in size depending on their species and may weigh several pounds to less than an ounce.
Bat Food
A bat’s diet depends on its species. Some bats eat insects such as moths and mosquitoes. Others eat fruit, pollen, nectar, frogs, birds, fish, or blood. However all bats, because they are mammals, begin life drinking milk produced by their mothers.
Bats use a variety of ways to locate their food. Fruit, pollen, and nectar eating bats use largely their sense of smell. Some bats have hearing sensitive enough to hear the footsteps of grasshoppers, lizards, or centipedes. Still others use echolocation, emitting high frequency sounds which bounce back to help them distinguish insects in the air or fish swimming in water.
Young Bats
Often young bats will cling to their mother until they are old enough to survive on their own. Some species though, such as the Mexican free-tailed bats roost separately from their mothers. Sometimes as many as 500 babies will roost within one square foot. These mothers recognize their babies by sound and smell.
If a young bat is orphaned however, another bat will often "adopt" this orphaned bat and care for it, suckling it until it is able to live on its own.
Where Can Bats Be Found?
Bats live on every continent with the exception of Antarctica.
They live in areas from the tropics to colder northern ranges. Those that live in places where the winter weather is cold and snowy eat enough from spring through autumn to store fat. Then they live on this fat while they hibernate.
Most bats roost in caves, hollow trees, or the boughs of trees and shrubs. Some bats will live in barns, houses, bridges, or in bat boxes built specifically as homes for these creatures.
Helpful Not Harmful
Bats are not any more likely to carry a disease than any other creature in the wild, although a sick or injured bat should always be left alone.
However, bats are extremely helpful animals in nature. Fruit bats help disseminate the seeds of various plants whose fruit they consume. Nectar and pollen eating bats help cactus and other plants to reproduce through pollination.
The manure, guano, bats produce is a valuable fertilizer in nature. Bats also help control insect pests with one little brown bat eating up to 600 insects in just one hour.
Bats In Danger
Approximately 40 species of bats live in North America and almost ½ of these are considered endangered. However, bats all over the world live a threatened existence.
Unfortunately these animals, despite their helpful attributes, are hunted more out of ignorance than for any other reason. Frightening mythological images, such as the ones at Halloween, are still conjured up when people think of bats. And often they are hunted for sport or out of fear. Some species such as the fruit bat of Australia, the flying fox, are hunted as a source of food also.
Insecticides have also played a role in their waning numbers. Bats eat the number one crop pest in the United States, the corn ear-worm moth. Ingesting these and other crop pests which have ingested insecticides can be harmful to the bat.
In addition destruction of the bats’ roosts, habitats, and feeding areas is occurring at a great rate. The Townsend’s big-eared bat in California, which prefers old mine shafts as roosts were nearly extinct because of the destruction of the mine shafts. However, at least one company has successfully sealed off a mine shaft from humans, but left it available for bats giving them an opportunity for a come back. Also the amazing rate at which the rain forests are being cut and burned destroys the natural habitat for the majority of bat species which live in tropical areas.
Bat Facts
- Vampire bats have a special substance in their saliva which prevents the clotting of blood. After biting the bat laps up the dripping blood rather than sucking it from its victim.
- Bats congregate in the largest gatherings of mammals known. The Mexican free-tailed bat will live in colonies numbering 300 million individuals.
- The smallest bat, the Kitti’s hog-nosed bat, is also the smallest known mammal. This bat lives in Thailand and has a wingspan of only 5" (13 cm) and weighs less than a dime. Sometimes it is called the bumblebee bat since the two creatures are similar in size.
- The largest bat is the flying fox, a type of fruit bat. It has a wingspan of up to 6 feet (1.8 cm) and weighs about 2 pounds (.9 kg).
- Some species of bats can fly faster than 60 miles per hour and as high as 10,000 feet.
- Bats hang by their thumbs to relieve themselves of body wastes and avoid dirtying themselves.
- 70% of bats eat insects.
- The anticoagulant in the vampire bat’s saliva may be used to help people with blood clots.
- Vampire bats usually attack domestic work animals such as horses and cows. However, they do rarely bite the toe or earlobe of a sleeping human, generally without ever waking the victim.
- The Chinese believe bats bring good luck, health, and bliss, unlike the frightening images often believed in by Americans and Europeans. Some North American Indian tribes also traditionally held bats in very high esteem.
- Bat’s knees bend back, opposite of human knee orientation.
- The Pallid bat is able to catch and eat scorpions without being harmed.
- In the cleared rain forest areas, fruit bats are responsible for up to 90% of the new growth. This is one of the only ways the rain forests are reestablished in our world today.
- A few types of bats have suction cups on their wrists and feet to help them grip plant parts.
Books for Children
- Bats by Gail Gibbons - This book is filled with understandable and interesting information accompanied by helpful illustrations. Appropriate for children ages 4-10.
(amazon.com has it)
- Extremely Weird: Bats by Sarah Lovett - Fantastic photographs and descriptions of a variety of bat species make this an interesting book and useful reference for children ages 8 and older.
(amazon.com has it)
- The Bat House Builder's Handbook by Merlin Tuttle - If you are interested in constructing a bat house to lure these creatures in for a closer look and provide a hospitable environment for them, then this book is just right. Great for children 11 and older.
(amazon.com has it)
- Silverwing by Kenneth Oppel - The first of a sequel, this book about a bat's desire to see the sun and all that entails from this one event is a wonderful adventure. Appropriate for children 9 and older.
(amazon.com has it)
- Stellaluna by Janell Cannon - This fictional but touching story of a young bat turned bird provides insight into these two flying creatures as well as insight into friendship. Nice for children ages 3 and older.
(amazon.com has it)
Links
- The Bat Cave by The Royal Ontario Museum - this site has information on bats in mythology as well as a virtual bat cave tour with descriptions and pictures of 7 different bats.
- Meet Our Bats by the Organization for Bat Conservation - A description of the characteristics and habits of each bat on this page is easily understandable and interesting.
- bats4kids bats bats everywhere by bats4kids - This site has lots of interesting information, suggestions, and links about bats displayed in a kid friendly atmosphere.
- The Home Forum Kid Space Go bats! by the Christian Science Monitor - This page is an interview with a bat expert sharing a variety of interesting information about bats.
- Introduction to Bats by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - this site includes information about the misconceptions, biology, and hibernation of bats and more.
- Bat Species: Natural History by Bat Conservation International - This site takes a little longer to load than most, but for extensive bat information it is worth the wait. Both U.S. and European bats are covered with more than 40 species in the U.S. alone available. Photos, a map of each bat’s range, and accompanying articles make this a nice site.
- The Search List of Endangered Bats by The World Conservation Monitoring Center - This allows you to click on the name of the endangered bat and display the details including its current endangerment, scientific name, and more.
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