Bats have their own order, "Chiropetera", meaning "Winged Hand".
Bats
locate prey with "echolocation", much like a porpoise and similar to radar.
Some old world bats have
a wing span of six feet.
Bumblebee bats in Thailand are the lightest mammals alive and weigh less than a
penny.
Three species in Florida are threatened with extinction; two species are already extinct.
Some
bats have a documented life span of thirty years.
Bats are NOT aggressive, but are shy and docile creatures.
Three species of bats do drink blood to survive. They are found only in Central and South America.
Bats are mammals; warm blooded, furred, and give birth to live young.
Seventy percent of all bats are insect
eaters. The Brown Bat eats up to 600 mosquitoes per hour.
Bats make up almost one-fourth of the species of
mammals.
Bats are our only flying mammals, and are cleaner than cats. They spend a lot of time grooming.
In west Africa, bats carry and spread 90-98% of the seeds for new growth.
Of the 42 species in the
U.S. and Canada, 40% are in danger of extinction.
Wild bananas, bread fruit, avocados, dates, figs, peaches,
cloves, cashew nuts, carob and balsa wood are all bat dependent for propagation.
Save
the Wildlife,Inc. Copyrighted 2010
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