Bats
Remember the Dracula films featuring vampires arising from their coffins in the dead of night, transforming into hideous flying creatures that suck the blood of innocent humans? Tales of bloodthirsty vampire bats can be traced back hundreds of years in Africa, Europe, India, and China. In Eastern Europe these animals were called vampires, after the Hungarian vampir, possibly from the Turkish word for witch. Stories of vampires are still popular today, keeping alive the human fear of bats. Of course, there is no evidence that the mythical vampire ever existed.
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Nearly a thousand species of bats exist in the world, living on every continent except Antarctica. Chiroptera, the order of bats, is divided into two suborders: Megachiroptera (megabats) and Microchiroptera (microbats). Megabats are large, fruit- and nectar-eating mammals found in tropical regions of Africa and Asia. Microbats are smaller and live all over the world. Microbats include species that catch frogs, birds, and rats. One even scoops fish out of water. But most microbats feed on insects. The infamous vampire bat is a microbat that bites the skin of cattle and other animals to lap blood from them. Only a small amount of blood is taken, however, and the wound is small. Most animals are asleep when bitten and are not disturbed by the cut.
Bats are distinct from other mammals in their ability for true flight. Other mammals, such as flying squirrels and flying lemurs, glide through the air but lack the physical adaptations that enable flight in bats.
Contrary to the popular expression blind as a bat, most bats have well-developed eyes. However, their sense of sight is eclipsed by their remarkable echolocation, a type of sonar that allows them to pinpoint the location of their prey and then capture it. Bats emit extremely loud high-frequency sounds and then interpret the echoes to assess movement, distance, and the direction of objects.
Living in large groups, bats roost in sites such as caves, mines, rock crevices, cavities of tree branches and trunks, as well as in attics and under bridges. Some species make long migrations to warmer climates, while others migrate only short distances but also hibernate. They often return to the same roosting site year after year.
Most bats produce only one young per year, although some species have twins. Female bats nurse their young until they are almost adult in size. The life span of the bat is about 15 years.
Bats make an important contribution to our environment by eating many harmful insects, such as moths, cutworms, locusts, and grasshoppers. Tropical trees and shrubs depend on the fruit- and nectar-eating bats for pollination and seed distribution. In areas where bats have been wiped out, insect pests have proliferated and caused major agricultural problems.
Populations of bats have declined almost everywhere in the world, and several species have become extinct. Fear and miseducation have led to the death of many of these gentle creatures and to the destruction of their habitats. Popular untrue notions about bats include the idea that the mammals often carry rabies, that they are a serious threat to human health, and that the animals attack humans. To help educate the public about bats and protect these mammals, Dr. Merlin Tuttle founded Bat Conservation International in 1982. The organization publicizes the value and conservation needs of bats and promotes bat conservation projects. However, there is still more work to do. With six U.S. bat species classified as endangered and 18 others considered candidates for the Endangered Species list, bats remain the most endangered land mammal in the United States.
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