Bat

Bat

Bats take up 20% of all classified mammals in the world. The smallest bat on record is barely an inch long, while the largest bat on record can get up to over 1 foot. They are commonly mistaken as flying rodents, but are in fact mammals. Most bats are plant and bug eaters, while the only carnivorous one is the vampire bat.

Bats, while not blind, have very poor sight, and use sound waves to move. They have very thin wings, much lighter than those of birds, allowing them to move more fluently and more accurately than birds. ( Hence the reason that birds are more commonly known to crash into cars, yet you rarely hear of a tale where the bat has a crash landing.)

Many hawks and falcons hunt bats, and many are killed. In winter months, bats retreat to caves and hibernate for six months. They are also seldom known to fly in the rain, as it disrupts the sound waves and pushes them down due to their light wings.

While the female bats can have up to 3-4 litters a season, the bat population rate grows slowly due to slow advancement. Megabats leave their parents and become independent at the age of four months, while regular bats are independent at the age of 6 weeks.