Interesting Bat Facts

• Bats are the only mammals capable of actual flight.


• In general, bats are not dangerous. Like any other mammal, they can carry rabies, although less than 1 percent of all bats are infected with the virus. More people die annually from dog attacks, bee stings, lightning and household accidents than from bat-transmitted rabies.


• Bats do not get caught in people’s hair. Bats that swoop near people are usually after insects such as mosquitoes.


• A single little brown bat can eat 1200 mosquitoes in an hour.


• There are almost 1,000 different species of bats in the world. This adds up to one-fourth of all existing mammals.


• Only 3 species of bats feed on animal blood. These vampire bats prefer to drink cattle blood and are only found in Latin America.


• The smallest bat is the size of a small mouse; the largest, a fruit eater, has a 6-foot wingspan.


• Bats have varied diets: 70 percent eat insects; many tropical species eat fruit or drink flower nectar; some bats even catch frogs and fish.
  
• Echolocation system of the bats is such good that the bats can hear the sounds of insects, changes in air flow, caused by the vibration of wings of insects and even the ripples on surface of ponds, caused by tiny stink fish.


• Fossil findings witness that the bats hovered in skies as long as 55 millions years back. The ancient bats were completely similar to the modern bats.


• Most people think that the bats resemble rodents, but in fact, their nearest relatives are primates.

source: DEP