A couple of bats used to live in my attic and I once visited New Mexico’s Carlsbad Caverns and witnessed the nightly mass exodus of hundreds of bats. Incredible! But that’s about the extent of my knowledge. In honor of the season, I did a little research and came up with these little known facts:
The smallest mammal in the world is a bumblebee bat, which can weigh as little as a penny!
To the contrary, the flying fox bat can have a wingspan of more than six feet!
One bat can eat as many as a thousand insects a night! Given that these are mostly mosquitoes and pests that harm agricultural crops, this is a good thing. In fact, they have been dubbed “Farmers of the Tropics” because they save farmers millions of dollars in crop damage that tropical pests would otherwise cause.
There are 2,000 species of bats worldwide!
Bats can survive in desert and jungle climates.
2011 – 2012 has been designated as International Year of the Bat.
Bat feces is an excellent source of organic fertilizer.
Bats can roll up their ears to keep warm. Some have eyes that are practically in their ears!
The South American vampire bat has an anti-coagulating agent in their saliva that is used to help stroke victims!
If you’re interested in learning more about bats, bat conservation efforts, and building a bat house to attract these creatures, visit http://www.batcon.org/ and another interesting site is www.sciworks.org
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