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- The Greater-horse-shoe bat gets its name
from the shape of its nose. It is the largest bat in Europe,
being about 70cm long.
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- There are more than 2000 species of bat.
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- Bats are the only mammals that can fly.
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- Little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus)
lives at the low altitude of 200m (660 ft)
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- The vampire bat of South America feeds by
biting animals with its teeth and drinks their blood. However,
vampires don't suck blood, just lap it up.
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- The bat's wings are actually webbed hands,
with skin stretching over long finger bones.
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- The smallest bat is Kittis hog-nosed bat,
from Thailand. Its body measures 2.5cm (1 in) and weighs 2g (0.07
ounces)
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- Bats make high-pitched shrieks that no human
ear can hear, and use the echoes bouncing of objects to tell
where they are.
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- In Mexico there is a bat that fishes. It
flies up and down a stretch of water with its feet dangling just
below the surface. This disturbance of the water attracts small
fish which get caught in the bat's claws. Most bats have their
wing membranes attached to their ankles but this fishing bat
has its membranes attached to its knees so that the lower legs
are left free.
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- Bats sleep during the day, hanging upside
down by their feet. An night, they come out to hunt for insects.
They make high pitched sounds which bounce of flying insects,
so they can home in on the echo and eat the unsuspecting creature.
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