BATS

~ There are over 1,400 species of bats worldwide. Bats can be found on nearly every part of the
planet except in extreme deserts and polar regions
~ When fully active, bats have a body temperature of about 37 °C (98.6 °F). Although some bats
maintain fairly even body temperatures, a large number undergo periodic raising or lowering of their
temperature.
~ Depending on the species, bats can live anywhere from 4 all the way to 30.
~ Bats can fly at speeds of 60 miles per hour or more! The Mexican free-tailed bat could reach
speeds up to 100 mph, making it by far the fastest mammal on Earth.
~ Bats can find their food in total darkness. Not all bats are nocturnal, but those that are can locate
insects to eat by emitting inaudible high-pitched sounds, 10-20 beeps per second and listening to
echoes. This is called echolocation.
~ Bats can eat up to 1,200 mosquitoes an hour. Often, bats consume their body weight in insects
every night, helping keep bug populations in check.
~ Some bats hibernate in caves through the cold winter months. Bats can also survive freezing
temperatures, even after being encased in ice.
~ Baby bats are called pups! Most bats have only one pup a year.
~ Bat mothers can find their babies among thousands or millions of other bats by their unique voices
and scents. Having only one pup a year makes bats extremely vulnerable to extinction.
~ Bats eat a variety of foods from flower nectar to fish, small mammals, and insects.
~ Loss of bats destabilizes ecosystems and can cause people to increase their use of chemicals to
control insects.
~ Bats drink from open water surfaces. The bat dives, opens its mouth to take a sip of refreshing
water. If a bat is stuck somewhere without food and water it will die within 24 hours.
~ Bats are the only mammals that actually fly, flapping their wings to propel them in flight. Some
mammals, such as flying squirrels, only glide rather than fly. Because bats are unique they are
classified in their own special order of mammals, called Chiroptera.
~ They have webbing that creates their wings. The wings are mainly made up of cartilage but it
doesn’t contain very much calcium in it.
~ They claws on their feet are very strong and that is what they use to allow them to hang upside
down while they sleep.
~ All bats have very tiny teeth that are razor sharp. They can easily bite through the skin of fruits or
prey.
~ Bats more typically live in abandoned mines, caves, on the underside of bridges, in trees, in
crevices in old buildings and barns, in woodpecker holes in trees, occasionally in homes and attics,
and in bat houses constructed especially for them.
~ Agricultural plants from bananas to cashews, dates, and figs rely on bats for pollination and seed
dispersal.