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| Facts About Bats |
- Bats are mammals belonging to the order Chiroptera, a name of Greek origin meaning "hand-wing."
- There are over 1,200 species of bats found around the world, with 47 species found in the United States, and 21 in Canada.
- The three most common species are Myotis lucifugus (little brown bat), Eptesicus fuscus (big brown bat), and Tadarida brasiliensis (Mexican free-tailed bat). The little and the big brown bats are common throughout the northern two-thirds of the country, while the Mexican free-tailed bat is the most common species in the southwest.
- Different bat species exhibit two general types of migration behavior: 1) migration from north to south and 2) movement into/out of hibernation sites (called hibernacula).
- In most places, winter means a shortage of food for insectivorous animals. Facing a choice of migrating to a warmer climate and remaining active, or going into hibernation, most bats in the northernmost and mid-latitudes choose hibernation.
- From late summer into fall, many North American bats prepare for the long winter ahead by storing fat reserves. They will need to store enough fat to last all winter and until spring. For a little brown bat, this means surviving for up to 8 months on only 2 grams of fat.
- Bats are unique. Even though they share the characteristics of all mammals - hair, regulated body temperature, the ability to bear their young alive and nurse them - bats are the only mammals to truly fly. The commonly named "flying" squirrels and "flying" lemurs actually glide or parachute by means of a furred membrane, but only bats have the structural adaptations that allow for full powered flight.
- Bats live much longer than other mammals of similar size. They have a wide range of life spans from 10 to 12 years for some species to over 30 years for other species.
- Most bat species in the U.S. and Canada have 1 pup per year. Less commonly, some species have 2-4 pups per year. Hoary and eastern red can have up to 4 pups.
- Newborn bats wings are too small to be used for flight so rely on the milk from their mothers. When they are a few weeks old, bats are expected to fly and hunt on their own. It is up to them to find and catch their prey, along with satisfying their thirst. Young bats become independent at the age of six to eight weeks. The young bats of the larger megabat species become independent at four months.
- Almost all of the 47 bat species in Canada and the U.S — and 70% of the world's bats — are insect eaters. Bats consume both aerial and ground-dwelling insects.
- World-wide, some bat species consume fruits, flower nectar, vertebrates and blood.
- Roosting habitat is incredibly important to bats. Bats are primarily forest animals and over half of bat species have adapted to spending at least some of their lives roosting in trees. However, they can also make use of a wide variety of structures from rock crevices caves and mines to buildings and bat houses. During winter, many hibernating bat species roost in caves or abandoned mines with stable and cool (but not freezing) temperatures and high humidity. In summer these same bats may roost in tree hollows, buildings or backyard bat houses. Migratory species in Canada and the U.S. tend to roost exclusively in trees which may be one reason they fly south from the coldest parts of their range to latitudes where it is warm enough in winter to roost in trees.
- Bats have few non-human predators, though raccoons, skunks, weasels, martens, cats, snakes, hawks and owls occasionally take a few. Humans pose the biggest danger to bat populations. Some people who fear bats will go out of their way to kill them.
- Worldwide, bats range in some from the smallest bat the Kitti's hog-nosed bat, with a win span of 15 cm (5.91 in) and mass of 2–2.6 g (0.07–0.09 oz) to the largest bat, the giant golden-crowned flying fox with a wingspan up to 1.7 m (5 ft 7 in) and a weight up to 1.6 kg (4 lb).
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