BAT FACT SHEET
STATUS:
Thirteen species of bat are listed as endangered.
DESCRIPTION:
Bats are the only mammals capable of true flight. The
bat's wing anatomically resembles the human hand, with
extremely elongated fingers and a wing membrane
stretched between. Over 1,000 bat species can be found
worldwide. In fact, bats make up a quarter of all mammal
species on Earth!
Because their wings are much thinner than those of
birds, bats can maneuver more quickly and more
precisely than birds. The surface of their wings are also
equipped with touch sensitive receptors on small bumbs
called "Merkel cells", which is found in most mammals,
including humans. But these sensitive areas are different
in bats as there are tiny hairs in the center, making it
even more sensitive and they detect and collect
information about the air flowing over the wings. Another
kind of receptor cells are found in the wing membrane in
species who are using their wings to catch prey, and is
sensitive to the stretching of the membrane. These cells
are concentrated in the areas of the membrane where
insects hit the wings when the bats capture them.
SIZE:
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.
POPULATION:
While some bat populations number in the millions,
others are dangerously low or in decline.
LIFESPAN:
Most bats live longer than most mammals of their size. The longest known lifespan of a bat in the wild is 30 years for a
little brown bat.
RANGE:
Bats can be found almost anywhere in the world except the polar regions and extreme deserts.
HABITAT:
Bats find shelter in caves, crevices, tree cavities, and buildings.
FOOD:
Bats specialize in different foods. Seventy percent of all bats consume insects. There are also fruit-eating bats; nectareating bats; carnivorous bats that prey on small mammals, birds, lizards, and frogs; fish-eating bats; and the blood-eating
vampire bats of South America.
There are estimated to be about 1,100 species of bats worldwide: about 20% of all mammal species.
Some of the smaller bat species are important pollinators of some tropical flowers. Indeed, many tropical plants are now
found to be totally dependent on them, not just for pollination, but for spreading their seeds by eating the resulting fruits.
BEHAVIOR:
Some bats have evolved a highly sophisticated sense of hearing. They emit sounds that bounce off of objects in their
path, sending echoes back to the bats. From these echoes, the bats can determine the size of objects, how far away they
are, how fast they are traveling, and even their texture — all in a split second.
Bats vary in social structure, with some bats leading a solitary life and others living in caves colonized by more than a
million bats. The fission fusion social structure is seen among several species of bats. The fusion part is all the individuals
in a roosting area. The fission part is the breaking apart and mixing of subgroups by switching roosts with bats, ending up
with bats in different trees and often with different roostmates. Studies also show that bats make all kinds of sounds to
communicate with each other. Scientists in the field have listened to bats and have been able to identify some sounds
with some behavior bats will make right after the sounds are made.
OFFSPRING:
For their size, bats are the slowest reproducing mammals on Earth. The vast majority of bats bear only one offspring a
year. A baby bat at birth weighs up to 25 percent of its mother's body weight, which is like a human mother giving birth to
a 31-pound baby! Offspring typically are cared for in maternity colonies, where females congregate to bear and raise their
young.
A baby bat is referred to as a pup. Pups are usually left in the roost when they are not nursing. However, a newborn bat
can cling to the fur of the mother like pouch and be transported, although they soon grow too large for this. It would be
difficult for an adult bat to carry more than one young, but normally only one young is born. Bats often form nursery roosts,
with many females giving birth in the same area, be it a cave, a tree hole, or a cavity in a building. Mother bats are able to
find their young in huge colonies of millions of other pups. Pups have even been seen to feed on other mothers' milk if
their mother is dry. Only the mother cares for the young, and there is no continuous partnership with male bats.
The ability to fly is congenital, but after birth the wings are too small to fly. Young microbats become independent at the
age of 6 to 8 weeks, megabats not until they are four months old. At the age of two years bats are sexually mature.
THREATS:
The greatest threat to bats is people. Habitat destruction and fear are a lethal combination for bats. In some areas, people
have even been known to set fires in caves, destroying thousands of roosting bats.
PROTECTION:
Endangered Species Act, *CITES, Appendix I