The Top 5 Facts About Bats

Bats are interesting animals. We know that certain species of bats can be used for mosquito prevention, as they eat the mosquitoes. This type of prevention is environmentally safe since it is completely natural. There are also many myths that come from rumors and facts about bats. Because of this, it is interesting to know facts about bats.

Bat Fingers

Don't worry. Bat fingers are not a type of food like chicken fingers. However, bats do have fingers. These fingers are found in the wings of a bat. The bats, just like humans, have four fingers and a thumb. However, these are in each of the two wings. Skin covers the fingers and the thumb to make the wings. Because of this, bats are able to hold things.

Count Me Batty

Bats have come to be associated with Count Dracula and vampires. It is often thought that a vampire will turn into a bat. This is because people thought that bats suck blood and vampire suck blood. However, no bats suck blood. Only some bats are vampires if the word "vampire" is used as the meaning "drinks blood." Vampire bats create a wound with their teeth and then lick the blood of the animal. A bat drinks only about an ounce of blood each night. They also only drink blood from larger animals like horses and sheep.

That's One Crowded Bed

If you thought five bears in a bed was crowded (of course, with the little one telling the others to "roll over"), you've never seen bats while they sleep! Bats sleep in colonies and thousands of them may sleep in a cave. The biggest bat colony is in Bracken Cave, TX. Up to 20 million bats can be found there!

Noisy as a Bat

People often say that they are "as blind as a bat." However, that simile doesn't work. Bat s actually have good eyesight. It is only difficult for them to see because they do most of their hunting at night. While humans don't hear the noises bats make, it is possible that they could be considered noisy. They use echolocation to help guide them. The emit a sound that bounces back. Just imagine a group of people bouncing tennis balls off of a wall and then all the bouncing being high pitched noises!

Swimming Bats

It is not normal for bats to swim. However, people have observed them swimming. The interesting part is that when bats fly, it is more like they are swimming. They do not flap their wings up and down like a bird. They move their wings as if they are pulling themselves through the air like people doing the butterfly stroke while swimming.

Sources:

Encyclopedia Smithsonian: Bat Facts. (n.d.). Smithsonian. Retrieved May 13, 2011, from http://www.si.edu/EncyclopediaKidZone Bats. (n.d.). Kidzone - Fun Facts for Kids!. Retrieved May 13, 2011, from http://www.kidzone.ws/animals/bats/facts.htm