1. Bats are animals that belong to placental mammals, a species of bats.

Bats are amazing creatures, they are flying mammals. By right, they are considered the most mysterious animals.

2. On the one hand, bats are the only mammals that can move through the air; on the basis of this ability, they claimed that they were birds. But, on the other hand, they are viviparous, they feed their young with milk, which birds do not do.

3. Study of life bats complicated by their secrecy, but scientists managed to establish that on this moment About 700 species of these animals have been recorded. Despite certain similarities, their different species have enough differences - while some of them feed on flower nectar, others prefer fresh blood, that is, bats are insectivorous and herbivorous, as well as bloodsucking. But one thing unites them all - a nocturnal lifestyle.

4. Species of insectivorous and herbivorous bats: two-colored kozhan, giant evening bat, white leaf-bearing bat, pig-nosed bat, large hare-eater, water bat, brown long-eared bat, dwarf bat.

5. Types of blood-sucking bats: common vampire, white-winged vampire, furry-legged vampire.

Bats of the species two-tone leather

6. Bats of the two-colored kozhan species live in almost all countries of Eurasia. You can meet them on the territory of Russia, from southern Siberia to the western borders. They live in mountain ranges, and in forests, and in the steppes. Some animals of this species easily inhabit even the attics of houses in large cities.

7. The body length of these bats is up to 6.5 centimeters, and the wingspan is 33 centimeters. At the same time, they weigh up to 23 grams. Such dimensions allow us to say that the two-color leather is a fairly large bat.

8. The original color of the animal determined its name: the ears, muzzle and wings are almost black, the back is dark brown, and the abdomen is light gray or white. Bicolor leathers feed on nocturnal insects.

Bat kind of gigantic party

9. Giant Vespers live in the European part. The giant evening bat is the largest bat living in Russia. The length of her body reaches 11 centimeters, weight - 70-80 grams, and wingspan - 45-50 centimeters.

10. This animal does not have a bright color: usually they are brown or reddish-brown, the abdomen is noticeably lighter than the back. But it is quite difficult not to notice the flight of these creatures, since their size is impressive.

11. Observing the life of the evening, we found that these bats eat large insects. In Russia they prefer beetles and butterflies.

12. They settle most often in hollow trees. Since low temperatures are possible in habitats, during the cold season, the animals migrate, choosing warmer regions.

dwarf bat

13. The dwarf bat is rightfully considered the smallest representative of the order of bats living in Europe. Its body is up to 4 centimeters long and weighs 6 grams. Representatives of this species have a fairly long tail - up to 3.5 centimeters.

14. The color of this animal depends on the region of habitat. In animals living in Asia, it is pale, grayish, while in their European relatives it is brown.

15. Bats settle near human habitation, often choose attics of houses and sheds. Representatives of this species prefer small insects for food, which helps a lot, exterminating thousands of mosquitoes and midges.

White leaf bat - white bat

16. Type of bats white leaf bat is a white bat. It got its name from the original appearance: and white coat with slight gray patches on the abdomen. But the nose and ears of representatives of this species are bright yellow, and their shape resembles leaves. It seems that the animal has stuck autumn leaves to itself.

17. This is one of the small representatives of bats: the body size is no more than 4-5 centimeters, and the weight is only 7 grams. It is so small that sometimes it seems that it is a bird.

18. This white miracle lives in the South and Central America, Honduras, Panama. For life, they choose evergreen forests, where they always find food for themselves - ficuses and fruits.

19. The original appearance of this animal attracts attention, so the bat at home is becoming more common.

Pig-nosed bat

20. Pig-nosed bats are rightfully considered the smallest: their weight does not exceed 2 grams, the body length is 3-5 centimeters. Sometimes they are confused with bumblebees.

21. They got their name for the original nose, reminiscent of a pig's snout. The usual color is dark brown, sometimes grayish brown. The coat on the abdomen has a lighter shade.

22. Pig-nosed bats live in southwestern Thailand and on some nearby islands. In other places, they are not common, therefore they are rightfully considered endemic to this area.

23. A feature of these animals is their joint hunting: they usually gather in small flocks and fly out together in search of small insects.

24. Small bats are difficult to see with the naked eye, so it is very difficult to observe their life. The limited habitat has made the population of these animals extremely small. Currently, this species is listed in the Red Book.

Great hareslip

25. Bats of the large haricot species live in the territory from southern Mexico to northern Argentina, as well as in the Bahamas and Antilles.

26. A large hareslip is a large bat: its weight sometimes reaches 80 grams, the size of the calf is up to 13.5 centimeters.

27. Animals have interesting feature colors: males are bright red, sometimes even fiery red, but females are very faded, grayish brown.

28. These bats got their second name - the fish-eating bat - because of their eating habits. Animals prefer to live near water bodies. Scientists have found that the harelip eats not only insects, like many bats, but also small fish, small crayfish and frogs.

29. And they can fly out to hunt, unlike many representatives of their detachment, during the day.

Bat species water bat

30. The life of bats of the water bat species was described in detail by the French scientist Dobanton. It was in honor of him that these animals received their second name - Dobanton's bats.

31. These are relatively small animals (weight up to 15 grams, wingspan - no more than 27 centimeters, and body length - 5.5 centimeters) hunt near water bodies, preferring mosquitoes and other blood-sucking insects for food.

32. These small-sized bats have a fairly wide habitat: in Russia they can be found in the lower reaches of the Volga, in the Ussuri Territory, on Sakhalin, Kamchatka, in the Primorsky Territory; they also live in other countries: in Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Mongolia, Italy.

33. Inconspicuous in appearance (usually their fur is dark brown), they are excellent hunters, destroying entire hordes of insects.

34.Declining populations of water bats contribute to the spread of livestock diseases transmitted by insect bites.

brown earflaps

35. The most noticeable part of the brown ear bats are their huge ears. With a weight of no more than 12 grams and a body size of 5 centimeters, the ears are sometimes larger than the body.

36. Huge ears allow these animals to hunt even in complete darkness.

37. But they cannot boast of their original color: their gray-brown fur is very inconspicuous.

38. Earflaps are found in almost all countries of Eurasia, in northern Africa, in China.

39. For their dwellings, they adapt almost any place: caves, buildings, trees. Most often they fly away to warmer regions for the winter, but always return to their old homes.

Type of bats common vampire

40. A very numerous species of bats, an ordinary vampire, spread the opinion about bats as vampires that can drink all the blood from an animal or a person. Another name is a big bloodsucker. The enzyme contained in the saliva of these animals can be quite dangerous: it affects blood clotting. Even a minor wound can cause major blood loss. And if several dozen bloodsuckers attack during the night, then death is inevitable.

41. An ordinary vampire is not a very large bat (weight no more than 50 grams, and a wingspan of up to 20 centimeters) spends the whole day sleeping upside down in its shelter in a large company of brothers, and after dark flies out to hunt. She chooses her victim among sleeping animals, she especially prefers cattle - they cannot resist. Choosing a place on the body near the vessels, the animal bites and licks the blood, which easily flows out of the wound.

42. A person can also be attacked by ordinary vampires if he spends the night in places accessible for visiting by these bats. The habitat of this species is South and Central America.

white-winged vampire

43. White-winged vampire. The representative of this species has average dimensions for bats: body length - up to 11 centimeters, weight - up to 40 grams, and wingspan - up to 40 centimeters.

44. Like an ordinary vampire, the white-winged one lives in South and Central America. Its coat has a reddish-brown hue, somewhat light on the abdomen.

45. The white-winged vampire attacks birds, it is their blood that is the diet of the animal.

Upland Vampire Bat

46. ​​Legged vampire bats live in the same places as their blood-feeding brethren. But representatives of this species can easily attack both birds and animals.

47. Unlike other bats, the upland vampire does not have a well-developed hearing, therefore, in its flights, it relies not so much on the usual echolocation as on vision.

48. Grayish-brown coloration and small size allow them to approach their victims unnoticed.

49. Many researchers have noted that hairy-legged vampires are absolutely not afraid of people: they can fly up very close, practically sit on their hands.

50. Bats are very often frightened, calling them blood-sucking and dangerous, but of all the variety of species, as we have seen, only three actually drink blood, and all vampire bats live only on the American continent.

There are millions of different living beings on the planet. Due to the peculiarities of appearance and character, the bat occupies a special niche. The name "bat" appeared at the beginning of the 17th century from a German translation of the book.

Many people don't know if a bat is a bird or an animal. Bats have wings and can fly, but bats are members of the animal world. Such a mouse is the only animal on the planet that moves through the air with the help of wings. Central America has become their deposit. These animals do not tolerate cold well, so they prefer mild climate Asia or the territory of Primorsky Krai. The animal belongs to the order of placental mammals, the species is bats. Let's see what a bat looks like.

They differ from each other in appearance and size. The common body size is from 3 to 10 cm, but there are also special individuals - false vampires. Their size is 40-50 cm, and their weight is up to 200 grams. The coat of a bat is thick and soft. It is usually grey, black or brown in color. There are animals with a yellowish or orange color. Such a bright fur color is inherent in the Mexican fish-eating mouse.

At the Honduran bat white fur and the nose and ears are yellow. There is no fur on the wings. The muzzle resembles a pig snout with elements of a mouse appearance. There are individuals on whose body a fur coat is completely absent. There are such representatives in the Philippines and Southeast Asia.

Bats differ in the internal structure of the skull and teeth. The long-tongued leaf-bearer has a long tongue with which it collects nectar. The elongated shape of the head is needed to fit the tongue.

Bats have a heterodont dental system, so they have canines, incisors, molars, and molars. Stronger and longer teeth are usually found in animals that feed on thick-shelled insects.

The number of teeth in different species of bats varies. For example, vampires have only 20 of them, while small mice can have up to 38. Vampires have sharp fangs to make bites, after which they bleed. In fruit-eating bats, the teeth are similar to the main part of the flower involved in the formation of the fruit.

Most representatives have a horn on their nose, resembling a rhinoceros nose, and large ears, similar to those of a hare, are located on their heads. The auditory organ improves the echo sounding of a mammal. The bat skeleton has several features. The forelimbs are of an unusual shape, one finger of which has a curved shape with a sharp end. "Hands" start from the hind limbs, reach the forearm and pass into elongated fingers. It turns out a kind of frame, constricted by a dense skin membrane.

The membrane serves as a wing to its mistress. In cold times, the mouse wraps itself in its membrane, like a cape. Bats are superior in mobility and aerodynamics to birds and insects. The flight speed of bats is from 10 to 50 km/h. Among the entire species of mice, the Brazilian folded lip reaches the highest speed up to 160 km / h. The membrane is greatly stretched, about 4 times, without being damaged. During the flight, the bat makes synchronous movements with its wings, strongly presses them to itself, thereby improving aerodynamics.

These mammals have very flexible wings, which allows them to turn 180 degrees without making a turn. The bat can hover in the air like an insect.

It is known that bats cannot see well, but they have excellent hearing. Many breeds of mice have a tragus on their ears, which improves and enhances the perception of sounds. False horseshoe bats can pick up the rustle of insects under the grass or among the foliage. Images for them appear in black and white. Echolocation helps them navigate in the dark. Ultrasonic impulses save from collisions with possible obstacles. However, bats are not completely blind, some see well and can catch prey with their eyes.

A well-developed olfactory sense helps to find their cubs after a night hunt, identify a stranger in a colony, or find sources of food.

Bat lifestyle

Mice prefer to live in large settlements, sometimes reaching more than a thousand individuals. True, there are animals that prefer to live alone. The Brazilian fold-lip colony has over 20 million individuals.

Bats hunt alone. They do not create families, but together only at the time of mating.

They sleep with their heads down and wrap themselves in their webbed wings. The bat is a nocturnal or crepuscular animal. Bats climb rocks well. During the flight, bats always emit a piercing squeak, the characteristics of which are comparable to the sound of an aircraft jet engine. The man does not hear him. Such ultrasonic waves are unbearable for human perception. The mammal spends winter time in hibernation, and sometimes they fly away to warmer climes. Hibernation lasts up to 8 months.

Where and how long do bats live

The mammal inhabited almost the entire planet, with the exception of tundra and ice-covered lands. The animal easily adapts to natural conditions, therefore it can live almost anywhere.

Bats love places where there is no daylight. Mammals live in caves, basements, abandoned places, in hollows of trees. There are amazing individuals wrapped in banana leaves. Other representatives may live under bird nests, in bamboo stalks, or even in cobwebs.

They live an average of 5 years, but there are also centenarians whose age reaches 20 years. The record age among bats is 33 years.

At home, mice can live less than expected due to an inactive lifestyle.

How they breed

Individuals living in warm climatic zones can breed twice a year.

In temperate latitudes, animals give birth to cubs once a year. Fertilization usually occurs in autumn time years before hibernation. Spermatozoa do not immediately fertilize the egg, they can be on the reservation until the female wakes up. Some males make special sounds that attract a female. It is impossible to describe exactly how bats groom and mate due to the secretive lifestyle of bats.

After awakening, the gestation period begins, which lasts depending on the temperature and the species. In a cold climate, the baby develops longer. Females give birth to one cub, rarely two or three. During childbirth, the female turns her head up. The birth of the cub takes place feet first, then it enters the tail bag, where it spends a week. Babies are hidden in a shelter and fed with milk.

This whole process gave the answer - the bat is a mammal or not. As a result, the animal was assigned to the appropriate class.

In the first week after birth, the female takes the cub with her to hunt, then, when it becomes heavy, she leaves it in the shelter. Before the age of one month, the babies are very weak and cannot hunt. Then they begin to catch prey near their shelter. Possessing a unique sense of smell, the female after the hunt can easily find the cub. Even being at a distance of several kilometers, the female can smell the baby.

Enemies of bats

Mammals don't have many natural enemies. Probably due to the nocturnal lifestyle, because they rarely intersect with anyone.

They hide their shelters well or live in large colonies, so many animals and birds are simply afraid of them.

Vespers, flying out at twilight, become the prey of daytime birds of prey: peregrine falcons, hawks or hobbies. Owls and owls love to hunt bats, but they are hard to catch. Bats are rescued by developed echolocation.

In the cave massifs of Hungary, tits attack the animal. They fly in at the moment of sleep and take the sleeping animal to their nest. True, tits are afraid large groups mammal due to mortal danger.

Bats sleeping on tree branches are often prey for tree snakes. The bat lacks adaptability to daytime life, so echolocation does not even save.

The mammal often falls into the clutches of spiders. In the dark, they do not see the web, and echolocation does not help. Some large spiders do not specifically kill the insect, luring more big booty, in the face of a bat.

Weasels, ferrets and martens are also enemies for bats. They sneak up during sleep and kill the animal.

Man is afraid of bats, so the destruction of entire colonies of these animals occurs. It is important that this mammal benefits by killing insects. After all, some are carriers of dangerous diseases.

In Asian countries, bat meat is considered a delicacy. Many bats are listed in the Red Book and are heavily protected.

What are the benefits of bats

Bats are very useful animals. They feed mainly on insects, which sometimes carry fatal diseases.

Bats save crops from pests. Flying from one flower to another, they help in the process of pollination.

Animal droppings are considered good fertilizer. It is known that in the caves you can find layers of excrement, reaching a meter.

Bat saliva is used for medicinal purposes.

domestic bat

When you want something exotic, people get a bat. These animals can get used to home conditions, but will feel uncomfortable. If you decide to have this animal, it is important to provide suitable conditions.

The bat loves the nocturnal lifestyle. During the day, a small animal prefers to sleep.

pet house

A large space is important for a bat, so you need to take care of a large aviary. It is decorated with branches so that the animal has somewhere to hide in the daytime. For bats, ambient temperature is important. The norm is 30 degrees.

A birdcage may not be suitable, as a bat can easily get between the twigs.

What to feed a bat at home

IN natural conditions Bats love to catch insects. Feeding should be done in evening time, once every 24 hours. At home, it is not possible to eat on their own, so it is necessary to provide the mammal with a correct and complete diet.

  • flour worms;
  • milk formulas for children up to a month;
  • insect pupae;
  • raw egg yolk;
  • adult cockroaches;

For nutrition, we prepare the mixture, add honey, yolk and vitamin E. We take the animal in our hands and offer a treat through a pipette.

Insects for the animal are stored in a jar.

The bat should not be overfed, because home conditions are characterized by reduced activity, which is dangerous for the health of the animal.

Each animal is unique. Bats are no exception. They have an unusual appearance and are useful to humans.

A bat is an animal that belongs to the class of mammals, order bats, suborder bats (lat. Microchiroptera).

Bats got their name not because they are relatives of micebelonging to the order of rodents, but most likely due to their small size and the sounds they make, similar to a mouse squeak.

Bat - description, structure. What does a bat look like?

Bats are the only mammals on Earth that can fly. Often this entire detachment is mistakenly called bats, but in fact it is not. The order of bats includes the family of fruit bats (lat. Pteropodidae), which does not belong to the suborder of bats (lat. Microchiroptera). Fruit bats, often called flying dogs, flying foxes, fruit bats, differ from bats in their structure, habits and abilities.

Bats are small mammals. The smallest representative of the suborder is the pig-nosed bat (lat. Craseonycteris thonglongyai). Its weight is 1.7-2.0 g, body length varies from 2.9 to 3.3 cm, and the wingspan reaches 16 cm. This is one of the smallest animals in the world. One of the largest bats is the giant false vampire (lat. Vampyrum spectrum), which has a wingspan of up to 70-75 cm, a wing width of 15-16 cm and a weight of 150-200 g.

The structure of the skull in different species of bats is different, as well as the structure and number of teeth. Both depend on the nutrition of the species. For example, in a nectar-eating tailless long-tongued leaf-bearer (lat. Glossophaga soricina) the front of the skull is elongated to accommodate its long tongue, with which it gets food. Bats, like other mammals, have a heterodont dentition that includes incisors, canines, premolars, and molars. Individuals that eat insects with thick chitinous coatings have larger teeth and longer fangs than those that eat soft-shelled insects. Small insectivorous bats can have up to 38 small teeth, while vampires have only 20. Vampires do not require many teeth, since they do not need to chew food, but their fangs, designed to make a bleeding wound on the victim's body, are razor-sharp. In fruit-eating bats, the upper and lower cheek teeth resemble mortars and pestles in which fruits are crushed.

Many bats have large ears, such as the brown earflap (lat. Plecotus auritus), and bizarre nasal outgrowths, like those of horseshoe bats. These features affect the echolocation abilities of the bat.

In the course of evolution, the forelimbs of bats were transformed into wings. The humerus shortened, and the fingers lengthened, they serve as the frame of the wing. The first finger with a claw is free. With its help, animals move in a shelter and manipulate food. In some species, for example, in smoky bats (lat. Furipteridae), the first finger is non-functional. The second, third and fourth fingers strengthen the part of the wing between the first and fifth and form the interdigital membrane, or apex of the wing. The fifth finger is extended to the entire width of the wing. The humerus and shorter radius support the trunk membrane, or base of the wing, which acts as a load-bearing surface. The speed of a bat depends on the shape of its wings. They can be highly elongated or slightly elongated. By the shape of the wing, one can judge the lifestyle of a bat. Wings with a slight elongation do not allow to develop high speed, but they make it possible to maneuver well among the crowns of trees. Highly elongated wings are designed for high-speed flight in open space.

Bats of small and medium size fly at a speed of 11 to 54 km/h while searching for prey. The fastest flying animal is the Brazilian folded lip (lat. Tadarida brasiliensis) from the genus of bulldog bats, which is capable of speeds up to 160 km / h.

Taken from: www.steveparish-natureconnect.com.au

The hind limbs of bats, unlike other mammals, are turned to the sides. knee joints back. Animals hang on them in shelters with the help of well-developed claws.

Some species are able to move on all four limbs. For example, an ordinary vampire (lat. Desmodus rotundus) during the hunt, landing on the body of the victim or next to it, he approaches on foot to the place where he bites.

Bats have tails of various lengths:

  • partially enclosed in the interfemoral membrane, with a free tip located on top of it, like in sac-wings (lat. Emballonuridae);
  • completely enclosed in the interfemoral membrane, like in myotis (lat. Myotis);
  • protruding beyond the interfemoral membrane, as in folded lips (lat. Molossidae);
  • long free tail, like a mousetail (lat.Rhinopoma).

The body, and sometimes the limbs of mammals are covered with wool. The coat of a bat can be even or shaggy, short or not very, sparse or thick.

The color of bats is dominated by gray, brown, black tones. Some animals are lighter in color - in fawn, whitish, yellowish shades. Occasionally there are also bright specimens. For example, in the Mexican fish-eating bat (lat. Noctilio leporinus) fur is yellow or orange.

Taken from: www.mammalwatching.com

There are white bats with yellow ears and a nose - these are Honduran white bats (lat. Ectophylla alba).

Taken from faculty.washington.edu

In nature, there are bats with a body that is not covered with hair. Two species of naked-skinned bats are known from Southeast Asia and the Philippines (lat. Cheiromeles torquatus And Cheiromeles parvidens) they are almost completely devoid of wool, only sparse hairs remain.

Bats have unique hearing. It is the leading sense organ in these animals. For example, false horseshoe bats (lat. Hipposideridae) catch the rustle of insects swarming in the grass or under a layer of leaves. On the ears of many bats there is a tragus - a narrow skin-cartilaginous outgrowth that rises from the base of the ear. It serves to amplify and better perceive the sound.

Taken from: blogs.crikey.com.au

Vision in bats is poorly developed. There is no color vision at all. But still, bats are not blind, and some even see quite well. For example, the California leaf-bearer (lat. Macrotus californicus) sometimes, with appropriate lighting, looking for prey with the help of the eyes.

Bats have not lost their sense of smell. According to the smell of the female Brazilian folded lip (lat. Tadarida brasiliensis) find their young. Some bats distinguish members of their colony from strangers. Big night bats (lat. Myotis myotis) and New Zealand bats (lat. Mystacina tuberculata) smell prey under a layer of foliage. New World leaf-bearers (lat. Phyllostomidae) find the fruits of nightshade plants by smell.

How do bats navigate in the dark?

The main means of orienting bats in space (for example, in dark caves) is echolocation. Animals emit ultrasonic signals that bounce off objects and echo back. Sounds originating in the throat, the animal makes through the mouth or directs them to the nose, radiating through the nostrils. In such individuals, the nostrils are surrounded by bizarre outgrowths that form and focus sound.

People only hear how bats squeak, because the ultrasonic range in which these animals transmit echolocation signals is inaccessible to the human ear. Unlike humans, a bat analyzes the signal reflected from an object and determines its location and size. The mouse "echo sounder" is so accurate that it captures objects with a diameter of 0.1 mm. In addition, winged mammals clearly distinguish between all kinds of objects: for example, different types of trees. Bats hunt using echolocation. By reflected ultrasonic waves, winged hunters in complete darkness not only find the prey, but also determine its size and speed. During the search for prey, the frequency of sounds reaches 10 oscillations per second, increasing to 200-250 just before the attack. In addition, the bat can squeak when inhaling, exhaling, and even while chewing food. Before the discovery of ultrasound, these mammals were thought to have extrasensory perception.

Representatives of the suborder are able to make both low-frequency and high-frequency sounds, and at the same time. The animal screams and listens at a speed incomprehensible to humans. Some bats, hunting nocturnal insects, emit up to 250 calls per second when approaching them. Some potential prey (butterflies, beetles, grasshoppers, crickets) have developed the ability to hear the bat's squeak in advance and respond to it with a feint or fall to the ground.

By the way, echolocation is developed not only in bats, but also in dolphins, whales, seals, shrews, scoop butterflies, and also in some birds.

Where do bats live?

Bats are widely distributed throughout the world, with the exception of Antarctica, the Arctic, and some oceanic islands. These animals are most numerous and diverse in the tropics and subtropics.

Bats are nocturnal or crepuscular animals. During daylight hours, they hide in shelters, which can be located in a variety of places underground and above ground. These can be caves, rock crevices, quarries, adits, various buildings built by man. Many varieties of bats live on trees: in hollows, bark crevices, in branches, in foliage. Some mice take refuge in original shelters, such as under bird nests, in bamboo stalks, and even in cobwebs. American suckers (lat. Thyroptera) roost in young rolled banana leaves, which unfold after the animals leave their homes. Leaf-bearers-builders (lat. Uroderma Peters), biting the leaves of palm trees and other plants along certain lines, they get a semblance of an awning from them.

Some species of bats prefer to live alone or in small groups, such as the lesser horseshoe bat (lat. Rhinolophus hipposideros), but they mostly stay in colonies. For example, females of the great bat (lat. Myotis myotis) gather in colonies from several tens to several thousand individuals. The record for the number of members is one of the colonies of the Brazilian folded lips (lat. Tadarida brasiliensis), numbering up to 20 million individuals.

How do bats hibernate?

Bats that live in cold and temperate latitudes hibernate during the cold season, which can last up to 8 months. Some species carry out seasonal migrations over distances of up to 1000 km, such as the red hairtail (lat. Lasiurus borealis).

Why do bats sleep upside down?

Chiroptera stand out among mammals not only because they can fly, but also because they know how to rest: during daytime rest or hibernation bats hang upside down on their hind legs. This position allows the animals to instantly fly straight from their starting position, simply falling down: less energy is spent this way, and time is saved in case of danger. Suspended upside down, bats cling to wall ledges, tree branches, etc. with their claws. Being in this position, the animals do not get tired, because the tendon mechanism of closing the claws of their hind limbs is designed in such a way that it does not require the expenditure of muscle energy. Some species, settling down to rest, are wrapped in wings. Species such as large bats cluster in dense heaps, and small horseshoe bats always hang on the ceiling or vaults of the cave at some distance from each other.

What do bats eat?

Most bats are insectivorous. Some catch insects on the fly, others pick up bugs sitting on the foliage. Among tropical species, there are those that feed exclusively on fruits, pollen and plant nectar. But there are also varieties that eat both fruits and insects. For example, the New Zealand bat (lat. Mystacina tuberculata) feeds on various invertebrates: insects, earthworms, centipedes and spidersbut, at the same time, consumes fruits, nectar and pollen. The diet of fish-eating bats (lat. Noctilio) consists of fish and other aquatic inhabitants. Panamanian large leaf-bearer (lat. Phyllostomus hastatus) eats small birds and mammals. There are also species that feed exclusively on the blood of wild and domestic animals, some birds, and sometimes humans. These are vampire bats, among which 3 species stand out: terry-legged (lat. Diphylla ecaudata), white-winged (lat. Diaemus youngi) and ordinary (lat. Desmodus rotundus) vampires. In other places the globe other types of vampires live, but they don’t drink blood.

Types of bats, photos and names

Below is short description several types of bats.

  • White leaf-bearing(lat. Ectophylla alba)

A tailless species that belongs to the genus of white leaf-bearers. These are small animals with a body length of 3.7-4.7 cm and a weight of no more than 7 grams. Leaf-nosed females are smaller than males. The body color of the animal corresponds to its name: the boiling-white back passes into the sacrum of a grayish tint, the lower abdomen also has a gray color. The nose and ears of the animal have a yellow tone, and the eyes are underlined by a gray frame around them. White leaf-bearers live in South and Central America, namely in countries such as Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama. Animals prefer moist evergreen forests, climbing no higher than seven hundred meters above sea level. Usually these white bats live alone or live in small groups of no more than 6 individuals. Animals feed at night. The diet of these bats includes fruits and some types of ficus.

  • Giant evening party(lat. Nyctalus lasiopterus)

This is the largest variety of bats in Russia and European countries. The length of the body of the animal varies from 8.4 to 10.4 cm, and the weight of the bat is 41 - 76 g. The wingspan of the animal reaches 41-46 cm. The giant evening has a brownish or fawn-red back color and a lighter abdomen. Darker coloring prevails on the head behind the ears. The bat lives in forests, and its range extends from France to the Volga region and the Caucasus. Probably, the species is also found in the countries of the Middle East. Often the animal inhabits the hollows of trees together with other representatives of the suborder, less often forms its own colonies. The wintering places of this species are unknown; apparently, the animals make long-distance seasonal flights. In nature, the bat eats enough large insects(butterflies, beetles), as well as small passerine birds, which are caught in the air for quite high altitudes. This bat is listed in the Red Book.

  • Pig-nosed bat (lat.Craseonycteris thonglongyai)

This is the smallest bat in the world, which, due to its modest size, is called the bumblebee mouse. The body length of the animal is 2.9-3.3 cm, and the weight does not exceed 2 grams. The ears of the mammal are quite large, with a large tragus. The nose looks like a pig's snout. The color of the animal is usually grayish or dark brown with a slight shade of red, the animal's abdomen is lighter. Pig-nosed bats are endemic to southwestern Thailand and nearby Myanmar. Animals hunt in groups of up to five individuals at night. They fly over bamboo and teak trees in search of insects that sit on the leaves of trees, and when they find food, they hover over prey right in the air due to their small size and wing structure. The number of pig-nosed bats in the world is extremely low. These animals are among the ten most rare species on Earth and are listed in the International Red Book.

Taken from: www.thewildlifediaries.com

  • Two-color leather (two-color bat) (lat.Vespertilio murinus)

It has a body length of up to 6.4 cm and a wingspan of 27 to 33 cm. A bat weighs from 12 to 23 grams. The animal got its name because of the color of the fur, which combines two colors. The back is colored in shades from red to dark brown, and the belly is white or gray. The ears, wings and face of the animal are black or dark brown. These bats live on the territory of Eurasia - from England and France to the coast Pacific Ocean. Northern border of the range: Norway, central Russia, Southern Siberia; southern border: southern Italy, Iran, Himalayas, Northeast China. The habitat of the two-colored kozhan is mountains, steppes and woodlands. In countries Western Europe these bats are often found in major cities. Two-color leathers do not mind being close to other types of bats, with which they share common shelters: attics, cornices, tree hollows, rock cracks. Animals prey on mosquitoes, caddisflies, moths and other small insects throughout the night. The species is endangered and protected in many countries.

Taken from: www.aku-bochum.de

  • Greater harelip (fish-eating bat)(lat.Noctilio leporinus )

It has a body length of 6.5-13.2 cm and a weight of 60 to 78 g. The coloration of males and females varies: the former have a reddish or bright red body, the latter are painted in dull grayish-brownish shades. A light stripe runs from the back of the head to the end of the back of the animal. These bats are found from the south of Mexico to the northern part of Argentina, they are found in the Antilles, the southern Bahamas and the island of Trinidad. Chiroptera settle near the water in caves, rock crevices, and also climb into hollows and tree crowns. Large harelips feed on large insects and aquatic inhabitants of fresh water bodies: fish, frogs and crustaceans. Sometimes they hunt during the day.

Taken from: reddit.com

Taken from: mammalart.wordpress.com

  • Water bat (Dobanton's bat)(lat.Myotis daubentonii)

It got its name in honor of the French naturalist Louis Jean-Marie Daubanton. This small animal has a body length of no more than 4.5 - 5.5 cm and weighs from 7 to 15 g. The wingspan is 24 - 27.5 cm. The color of the fur is inconspicuous: dark, brownish. The top is darker than the bottom. The habitat of the animal extends from Great Britain and France to Sakhalin, Kamchatka and the Ussuri Territory. The northern border runs near 60°N, the southern border runs from southern Italy, along the south of Ukraine, the lower Volga, through northern Kazakhstan, Altai, northern Mongolia, to Primorsky Krai. The life of a bat is connected with water bodies, although animals are found far from them. During the day, they can climb into a hollow or attic, and with the onset of night they begin to hunt. These bats fly slowly, often fluttering over the surface of water bodies, and catch medium-sized insects, mainly mosquitoes. If there is no reservoir nearby, then the water bats hunt among the trees. By destroying blood-sucking insects, water bats contribute to the fight against malaria and tularemia.

  • Brown earflap ( he is ordinary earflap)(lat. Plecotus auritus)

It has a body length of 4-5 cm and a weight of 6-12 g. The most characteristic feature of the earflap is its huge ears. The body is covered with uneven dull fur. Ushan habitats cover almost all of Eurasia, including Portugal in the western part of the range and up to the Kamchatka Peninsula in the eastern part. Also, brown earflaps are found in northern Africa, in Iran and central China. The lifestyle of bats is sedentary. These winged animals overwinter not far from their places of stay in the summer, inhabiting caves, various cellars, well log cabins and hollows of powerful trees, sometimes meeting in the attics of houses that were insulated for the winter. The big-eared bat flies out to hunt in complete darkness and hunts until the moment the sun rises.

  • Bat-dwarf ( he is small or small-headed bat) (lat. Pipistrelluspipistrellus)

Quite a numerous species belonging to the genus of the inexperienced, the family of smooth-nosed bats. This is the smallest species of bats in Europe. The body of the dwarf bat resembles the body of a mouse, its length is 38-45 mm, and the length of the tail is 28-33 mm. The mass of a dwarf bat is usually 3-6 g. The wingspan of this small bat reaches 19-22 cm. The body is covered with short, even hair, which is brown in the European form of the animal, and pale grayish-yellow in the Asian. The lower part of the body has a lighter color. The dwarf bat is widespread in Eurasia: from west to east from Spain to Western China, and from north to south from southern Norway to Asia Minor and Iran. This species of bats, in addition to Eurasia, is found in North Africa. Settles in places associated with human habitation, does not occur in the depths of forests and steppes, avoids caves, sometimes settles in hollows of trees. In winter, bats make seasonal migrations. Adult males are extremely rare in the spring-summer period, as they keep alone or gather in small groups separately from females and young individuals. Bats hunt after sunset. They fly low, in the lower part of tree crowns. The food of this tiny mouse is made up of small insects. The dwarf bat is one of the most useful bats in the Eurasian fauna.

  • Great horseshoe(lat. Rhinolophus ferrumequinum)

The dimensions of the animal are 5.2-7.1 cm, the wingspan reaches 35-40 cm, and the mass of the bat is 13-34 g. The color of the back varies depending on the habitat from dark chocolate to pale smoky fawn. The belly of the animal is whitish with gray tint, lighter than the color of the back. Young animals have a monochromatic grayish color. The species is distributed in northern Africa (Morocco, Algeria), in Eurasia, the habitat of the horseshoe bat extends from Great Britain and Portugal through the mountainous regions of Central Europe, covers the Balkans, the countries of Asia Minor and Western Asia, the Caucasus, the Himalayas, Tibet, and ends in the south of China, Korean peninsula and Japan. On the territory of Russia, this bat is found in the Crimea and the North Caucasus, covering the range from Krasnodar Territory to Dagestan. The habitual places of settlement of the horseshoe bat are mountain crevices, grottoes, cellars and ruins, as well as caves. In Central Asia, these animals live under the domes of tombs and mosques. Bats live relatively sedentary, making local seasonal migrations. They hibernate in damp caves and dungeons. They hunt low above the ground for moths and small beetles. The large horseshoe bat is listed in the Red Book of Russia.

  • Ordinary Vampire ( he is big bloodsucker, or desmode) (lat.Desmodus rotundus )

most numerous and known species real vampires. Largely due to this genus, bats have their bad reputation. An ordinary vampire really feeds on blood, including drinking human blood. This is a small animal: the length of the bat is 8 cm, the weight is 50 g, the wingspan is 20 cm. Bloodsucking vampires live in large colonies. During the day they sleep in the hollows of old trees and caves. An ordinary vampire flies out to hunt late at night, when his future victims are immersed in a deep sleep. He attacks large ungulates such as cows, horses, pigs. It can also bite a person sleeping in an open area or in a house with open and unprotected mesh windows. With the help of hearing and smell, vampire bats find a sleeping victim, sit on it or next to it, crawl to the place where the vessels come close to the surface of the skin, bite through it and lick the blood flowing from the wound. A special secret contained in the saliva, which the vampire wets the victim's skin, makes the bite painless and affects blood clotting. As a result, the victim may die from blood loss, as the blood flows out for a long time without clotting. But not only this dangerous ordinary vampire. With its bite, the virus of rabies, plague and other diseases can be transmitted. Vampires also suffer from rabies. The spread of disease within the species is due, among other things, to the propensity of vampires to share regurgitated blood with hungry kin, a habit extremely rare among animals. Vampire bats live only in the tropics and subtropics of Central and South America. There are other kinds of vampires in other parts of the world, but they don't feed on blood. Thanks to these three species of bats, negative attitude to bats, which are not only harmless, but also useful animals.

How do bats reproduce?

Most of the bats found in tropical latitudes, breed twice a year. Inhabitants of temperate latitudes - 1 time per year. The mating season in bats of temperate latitudes begins in autumn. Spermatozoa in the genital tract of mated females persist throughout the winter, and fertilization occurs in the spring. Bat Pregnancy Can Last different time and depends on the ambient temperature: in heat, the embryo develops faster. Some species, such as the common earflap (lat. Plecotus auritus), most often give birth to 1 cub each, shirokoushki (lat. Barbastella), leather (lat. Eptesicus), bats (lat. Myotis), etc. - 2 cubs each, and hairy tails (lat. Lasiurus) have 3 newborns in the litter .

The development of the young is very fast. By the end of the first week, the bat cub doubles in size, and the body, naked at birth, is covered with short hairs. Newborns first feed on their mother's milk, and after about a month they already hunt near their homes.

How long do bats live?

The life expectancy of bats in nature, according to various sources, varies from 4 to 20 years. The maximum fixed term is 33 years.

Bat enemies.

Among animals and birds, bats do not have very many enemies, besides, bats become their victims infrequently and rather by accident. Early emerging species of bats, such as evening bats (lat. Nyctalus) and bats (lat. Pipistrellus), are attacked by diurnal predator birds: Peregrine Falcons, Hobbies, Hawks. Night owls, owls, snakes also will not refuse to grab a bat. Random enemies also include animals such as weasel, polecat, marten.

And yet the main enemy of bats is man and his activities. The populations of various bat species are declining significantly due to the use of chemicals in livestock and crop production. Flying animals that live in forests are deprived of shelter and food as a result of cutting down trees. Currently, many species of bats are protected and listed in the international Red Book.

Bat bite

Bats, excluding vampires, are not aggressive animals and will not attack a person themselves and will not bite. If the animal is taken in hand, it can only bite out of fear, defending itself. In this case, the wound must be treated with an antiseptic and consult a doctor, as with any bite of a wild animal.

Why are bats dangerous?

People have long had a negative attitude towards bats. There are a lot of myths and prejudices about them. In particular, numerous stories about bats that get tangled in their hair are unrealistic, because the most advanced animal echolocation system excludes this. In fact, several species of bats are dangerous to humans, as they can carry the rabies virus and other dangerous diseases. These are blood-sucking bats that live in South and Central America. It is believed that some species living in Africa also carry viruses and even the deadly Ebola virus. But this has not been proven by science.

The benefits of bats

Bats are useful animals. They're in huge quantities destroy various insects - carriers of diseases and agricultural pests:

  • Bats exterminate not only mosquitoes that spread malaria, but also their wintering grounds, which is especially important, since the destruction of a dozen wintering mosquitoes has a greater effect than the destruction of thousands of flying ones.
  • These animals eat mosquitoes, carriers of leishmaniasis, a disease common in tropical and subtropical countries.
  • Flocks of bats sometimes accompany nomadic domestic animals, relieving them of blood-sucking insects.
  • Mosquitoes and mosquitoes are preyed upon by small bats. Larger animals eat butterflies and beetles, pests of crops and plantings: the cotton bollworm, the most dangerous crop pest in the United States; odoriferous woodworm - a pest of orchards; military silkworm and other silkworms, cleanly nibbling trees; silver holes, whose caterpillars destroy the leaves of barren trees; brushes and many others.

In addition, bats contribute to the pollination of plants. Taking out insects that have clogged in flowers, animals carry adhering pollen. They also distribute the seeds of many economically important plants and fruit trees.

Bat droppings (which is called guano), the deposits of which are formed in the places of their settlements, are used as fertilizer. It contains a lot of nitrogen and phosphorus and gives a significant effect on the cultivation of valuable crops.

Bats are of great importance to science. They are the subject of a number of important experimental studies.

How to get rid of bats?

Sometimes bats settle next to a person: they can be found in the country house, under the roof of the house or in the garage. They seem to have identified themselves as pets. Bringing undoubted benefits in the fight against insects and protecting crops and plantings from pests, bats can cause some disturbance to their owners. For example, the noise they make at night can interfere with sleep. Vapors from their waste can harm human health. If it becomes necessary to get rid of bats, this must be done carefully so as not to harm unexpected neighbors.

  • You need to find a place where bats rest during the day, and after waiting for them to fly out to hunt, close the entrance mounting foam or boards.
  • You can try to literally "smoke" them with smoke or pouring water.
  • There are also various sprays or naphthalene that can be used to treat the shelter of bats in their absence.
  • Ultrasonic repellers are also effective remedy in the fight against bats.
  • Summer residents can make special buildings for flying animals to move them there.
  • Finally, you can turn to the help of special teams that know exactly how to evict unwanted guests.

  • Bats always fly out of cover to the left.
  • One small bat can eat up to 600 mosquitoes in an hour, which is equal to 20 pizzas in terms of the weight of a person.
  • During the Second World War, a project was being developed in which Brazilian folded lips were tried to be used as arsonists, attaching firebombs to them and throwing them over enemy territory so that they penetrate houses.
  • Substances contained in the saliva of vampire bats have been used to create drugs that prevent the formation of blood clots, that is, to combat stroke.
  • IN European culture bats act as representatives of dark forces, while in Chinese, on the contrary, they are perceived positively and are a symbol of happiness.

September 21 marks one of the most unusual environmental holidays - International Bat Night. The purpose of the holiday is to draw people's attention to the problem of protecting and popularizing these animals. In Europe, the night of bats has been celebrated for almost 10 years, and in Russia it has been held since 2003.

On the day of the bat holiday, AiF.ru collected some interesting facts about bats.

1. Bats belong to the order of bats. There are over a thousand species of these small winged animals. Among all mammals, only bats are capable of active flight, while flying squirrels do not fly - they glide from a great height.

Photo: www.globallookpress.com

2. Bats are nocturnal, and during the day they sleep upside down, falling into a stupor. They settle on trees in forests, as well as in caves and attics of houses. At the same time, mice do not like loneliness and usually live with relatives. Separate colonies of bats can number up to several million animals.

3. Mice usually do not fly as fast as birds, although the Brazilian folded lip can reach speeds of up to 100 km / h.

4. Most bats feed on insects, but some also prey on birds, lizards and frogs. Some species eat fruits.

One small bat can eat up to 600 mosquitoes in an hour. In terms of the weight of a person, such a portion will be equal to 20 pizzas. At the same time, bats are not obese. The metabolism of these creatures is very fast - they can completely digest a portion of bananas, mangoes or berries in 20 minutes.

5. Mice are not blind at all, they see very well, but for orientation in space they use not vision, but ultrasonic echolocation. Mice make sounds that are not audible to the human ear, and catch the echo reflected from objects. They are also able to communicate with each other using a squeak, have their own language and even sing songs at high frequencies.

6. Bats have long been considered mysterious and sinister creatures, as they settle in places that people are afraid of, appear only after dark and disappear at dawn. With wings like those of bats, dragons, demons and demons were often depicted. The gargoyle statues that sit on the facades of Gothic cathedrals have the same wings. And in the novel "Dracula" by Bram Stoker, vampires for the first time began to turn into bats.

7. In fact, bats of the vampire subfamily, which feed on blood, are not found in Europe. They live in Central and South America. Vampire mice drink the blood of large animals and birds, but sometimes they can also attack sleeping people. They cannot fast for more than 2 days. Vampires find their prey using special infrared receptors, and can also hear the breath of the victim.

Photo: www.globallookpress.com

8. Vampire bites are usually painless, thanks to the anesthetics found in mice's saliva. Their saliva also contains enzymes that prevent blood clotting. Therefore, the wound may continue to bleed even after the vampire has already "fed up".

9. Many species of bats have been listed in the Red Book due to human activities. They have become rare due to the destruction of their habitats and deforestation. Not last role superstitions, fears and conjectures play in the disappearance of mice, because of which people seek to get rid of these harmless, in general, animals. In order to protect the mouse population, many countries have signed the International Agreement for the Conservation of Bats.

10. Bats are not dangerous or aggressive. Those animals that live in our country feed on mosquitoes and other insects. If a mouse flew into your window, try not to harm it, carefully catch it and release it into the wild. In the winter season, it is better to give her to specialists, because she herself may not find shelter and die.

Photo: www.globallookpress.com

11. The weight of the smallest bat - the pig-bearer - is 2 g, and the largest individuals of the golden-crowned fox can weigh up to 1600 g. The wingspan of these mammals is from 15 to 170 cm. The weight of newborn bats is a quarter of the mother's weight.

12 Bats Can Change Their Temperature own body in the range of almost 50 degrees. When they are not hunting, their metabolism slows down significantly, and warm-blooded animals can freeze to the point of icicles.

13. It is difficult for bats to take off from the ground, so they choose places to rest from where they can rush down. That is why these animals spend most of their leisure time hanging upside down.

Photo: www.globallookpress.com

14. Australian Aborigines and Buddhists consider the bat a sacred animal. In China, these mammals represent good luck and happiness. The words "bat" and "happiness" sound the same in Chinese.

15. Scientists from the University of Queensland found poison in the saliva of bats, which turned out to be a powerful thrombolytic. It can be used to create drugs against high pressure and stroke. The poison is absolutely harmless to humans and has a similar effect to cryotherapy.

16. Bats help farmers get rid of harmful insects. Last year, US researchers estimated that these animals save US farmers about $3.7 billion a year. In addition, bats pollinate many plant species. Bats are sometimes even called the "keepers of tequila", because bats distribute agave seeds, on the basis of which the traditional Mexican alcoholic drink is made.




Bats are small fluffy animals that skillfully dart through the sky at dusk.
Almost all species of bats are nocturnal, resting during the day, hanging head down, or hiding in some kind of hole.

The bats belong to the order Chiroptera, and constitute its main part. It is worth noting that bats live on all continents of our planet, except for Antarctica.

It is not realistic to consider a mouse in flight, their flapping flight is very different from the flight of birds and insects, surpassing them in maneuverability and aerodynamics.

The average speed of bats in flight is from 20-50 km/h. Their wings have brushes with long fingers connected by a thin but strong leathery membrane. This membrane is stretched 4 times, without breaks and damage. During the flight, the mouse performs symmetrical wing flaps, pressing them strongly against itself, much tighter than other flying animals, thus improving the aerodynamics of its flight.

The flexibility of the wing allows the Bat to instantly turn 180 degrees, almost without making a turn. Bats are also capable of hover in the air like insects, making quick wing beats.

Echolocation of Bats

For orientation Bats use echolocation and not by sight. During the flight, they send ultrasonic pulses, which are reflected from various objects, including living ones (insects, birds), and are captured by the auricles.

The intensity of the ultrasonic signals sent by the mouse is very high, and in many species it reaches up to 110-120 decibels (a passing train, a jackhammer). However, the human ear does not hear them.

Echolocation helps the mouse not only navigate in flight, maneuvering in a dense forest, but also control the flight altitude, hunt, chase prey, and look for a place to sleep during the day.

The bats often sleep in groups, despite their small size, they have high level socialization.

Songs of Bats

Among mammals (other than humans), bats are the only ones that use very complex vocal sequences to communicate. This sounds like bird songs, but much more difficult.

mice sing songs during the courtship of a male for a female, to protect his territory, to identify each other and indicate his status, while raising cubs. Songs are published in the ultrasonic range, a person can only hear what is "sung" at low frequencies.

In winter, some bats migrate to warmer regions, and some hibernate during the winter.

Conservation status of the bat

All European bat species are protected by many international conventions, including the Berne Convention (for the protection of European animals) and the Bonn Convention (for the protection of migratory animals). In addition, all of them are listed in the IUCN International Red Book. Some of the species are considered endangered, and some are vulnerable, requiring constant monitoring. Russia has signed all international agreements for the protection of these animals. All types of bats are also protected by domestic legislation. Some of them are included in the Red Book. According to the law, not only the bats themselves, but also their habitats, primarily shelters, are subject to protection. That is why, neither the sanitary supervision nor the veterinary authorities simply have the right to take any measures in relation to the found settlements of bats in the city, and also, by law, a person has no right to destroy the habitats of mouse colonies and the mice themselves.

Interesting Bat Facts

1. There is an international night of bats. This holiday is celebrated on September 21, in order to draw attention to the problems of the survival of these animals. In Russia, this environmental holiday has been celebrated since 2003.

2. In one hour, a bat can eat up to 600 mosquitoes, which, in terms of the weight of a person, will equal about 20 pizzas.

3. Bats are not obese.

4. Bats sing songs at high frequencies.