Intresting Facts About Bats
Bats are winged, flying mammals that give birth to live young called pups. Adult bats range in size from the one-inch-long bumblebee bat, a member of the Microchiroptera suborder, to the large flying fox bat, a member of the Megachiroptera suborder, that has a six-foot wide wingspan. Bats are found in almost every part of the world except for the North and South poles.
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Fruit-Eating Bats
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Frugivorous, or fruit-eating bats, consume various fruits, nuts or plant nectar. Some frugivorous species, such as the Jamaican fruit-eating bat, eat tropical fruits like figs and wild almonds.
Fruit-eating bats are responsible for the pollination of many species of flowers and plants. They also help replenish trees and vegetation in several ways. Besides dropping the seeds of the fruits they carry away to eat, they also disperse seeds via the act of defecation.
Insect-Eating Bats
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Insectivorous, or insect-eating bats, make up the majority of bat species. Their habits of consuming insects, which they catch either in flight or by swooping down and snatching from surfaces, helps humans by thinning out a number of problem insects. These bats help eliminate crop pests in some areas and disease-carrying insects in others. Some insect-eating bats, such as the little brown myotis, catch and consume up to 1,200 insects an hour.
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Nectar-Eating Bats
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Nectivorous, or nectar-eating bats, eat pollen and nectar. Brushy tips on the ends of their long, protruding tongues make it possible for them to easily gather pollen from the flowers and plants in their environments. Some nectar-eating bats, such as the Mexican long-tongued bat, occasionally even sip from hummingbird feeders.
Carnivorous Bats
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Carnivorous bats feed on the blood of livestock, rodents, birds, fish or other vertebrates. They prefer warm climates like those found in Mexico, Central and South America, and typically dwell in old wells, caves, abandoned buildings or holes in trees.
The saliva of vampire bats contains an anticoagulant called draculin. Draculin keeps blood from clotting, enabling the bats to obtain sufficient amounts of blood from each feeding. The anticoagulant agent in vampire bat saliva is also helpful in treating some human health conditions.
Dangers from Bats
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Though bats benefit humans in many ways, there are a few downsides to the human/bat relationship. Bat bites sometime infect humans or other animals with rabies, and bat droppings, or guano, can result in an odor problem if the fecal material is present in sufficient amounts. Some cattle ranchers in the tropics lose numerous heads of cattle due to infections from bat bites.
Conservation
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About a quarter of all bat species are considered to be endangered. Human intervention is making a difference for some bats, though.
The use of manufactured or home-built bat houses offers bats an alternative to roosting in human homes. Some natural bat habitats like caves have been outfitted with gates that keep animals and humans out, while allowing easy access to the cave by the bats.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit more bats 64. image by mdb from Fotolia.com
