- They live in all parts of the world except in most of the Arctic and
Antarctica.
- Bats belong to the order Chiroptera, which means 'hand-winged'.
- A bat looks like a mouse because of its small, furry body.
- There are 1,000 species of bats classified in about 200 genera and
17 families.
- Bats are divided into two suborders: Megachiroptera, meaning large
bat, and Microchiroptera, meaning small bat. The
- largest bats have a 6 foot wing span. The bodies of the smallest bats
are no more than an inch long.
- Bats range in size from a wingspread of over 5 ft (150 cm) to a wingspread
of less than 2 in. (5 cm).
- The world's smallest mammal is the bumblebee bat of Thailand, weighing
less than a penny.
- Bats are the only mammals capable of true flight, that is, flight
powered by muscular movement as distinct from gliding.
- A single little brown bat (myotis) can eat up to 1000 bugs in a single
hour that destroy crops and plants.
- Many people think that bats are dirty and linked with evil forces
of darkness. This is not true. Bats are very clean animals that groom
their wings and teeth daily.
- Vampire bats live in Mexico and Central and South America. They do
not suck people's blood. They do feed on the blood of sleeping cattle
and livestock.
- A vampire bat does not suck blood. They usually walk up to the animal
while they are asleep. They then use their sharp teeth to puncture the
skin and then lick up the blood.
- 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.
- Bats smell, hear, taste, feel and see just like people do. The term
"blind as a bat" isn't really accurate. Bats have perfectly
good eyes for seeing in the daylight. The problem is, they do most of
their hunting at night.
- Bats feed at night (they are "nocturnal") and spend the
day sleeping in caves or in tree tops. The place where a bat sleeps
is called its "roost".
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