BAT FACTS 101 !!!

Amazing Bat Facts!

A single little brown bat can eat up from 500-1,000 mosquitoes in a single hour, and is one of the world's longest-lived mammals for its size, with life spans of almost 40 years.

Bats are more closely related to humans than they are to rodents. Several studies indicate that the Old World fruit bats (Flying foxes ) may actually be descended from early primates.

There are over 1000 known species of bats, just about a fourth of all mammal species. Most of these bats would fit in the palm of your hand.

Most bats give birth to only a single pup each year, making them very vulnerable to extinction. They are the slowest reproducing mammals on earth for their size.

The world's smallest mammal is the bumblebee bat of Thailand which weighs about as much as a dime.

Giant flying foxes that live in Indonesia have wingspans of nearly six feet.

The 20 million Bats from Bracken Cave in Texas, eat 250 tons of insects every night. They sometimes fly up to two miles high to feed or to catch tailwinds that carry them over long distances, at speeds of more than 60 MPH!

Many important agricultural plants, like bananas, bread-fruit, mangoes, cashews, dates and figs rely on bats for pollination and seed dispersal.

Contrary to popular misconceptions, most bats have very good eyesight, have excellent echolocation so they do not become entangled in human hair, and seldom transmit disease to other animals or humans. NO BATS ARE BLIND!

Fishing bats have echolocation so sophisticated that they can detect a minnow's fin as fine as a human hair protruding only two millimeters above a pond's surface.

African heart-nosed bats can hear the footsteps of a beetle walking on sand !

Desert ecosystems rely on nectar-feeding bats as primary pollinators of giant cacti, including the famous organ pipe and saguaro of Arizona.

Bat droppings in caves support whole ecosystems of unique organisms, including bacteria useful in detoxifying wastes, improving detergents, and producing gasohol and antibiotics.

Vampire bats adopt orphans, and are one of the few mammals known to risk their own lives to share food with less fortunate roost-mates.

An anticoagulant from vampire bat saliva may soon be used to treat human heart patients and stroke victims.
All mammals can contract rabies; however, even the less than half of 1% of bats that do, normally bite only in self-defense and pose little threat to people who do not handle them.

Nearly 40% of American bat species are in severe decline or already listed as endangered or threatened. Losses are occurring at alarming rates worldwide.

Providing bat houses can help build the populations of many valuable bat species that eat many crop-damaging insects, such as cucumber and June beetles, stink bugs, leafhoppers and corn worm moths. Bat houses furnish places for bats to roost, hibernate and raise young, in addition to the dwindling number of natural sites available to them.

The Honduran white bat is snow white with a yellow nose and ears. It cuts large leaves to make "tents" that protect its small colonies from jungle rains, one of 15 other species known to make tents.

Frog eating bats identify edible from poisonous frogs by listening to the mating calls of male frogs. Frogs counter by hiding and using short, difficult-to-locate calls.

Two famous bats from literature are "Stellaluna", the young fruit bat from the enchanting children's book by Janell Cannon, and "Sunshine", the friendly little bat whose rescue was described in the book "The Bat In My Pocket", by Amanda Lollar .

Conservation based educational programs, featuring renowned bat expert joseph D’Angeli and his famous family of LIVE bats , available for organized groups, schools, zoos , museums,.......and VAMPIRES!