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Bats

 

Have you ever wondered what life is like in a bats world? Wouldn’t it be strange using wave signals sent to our ears to find food? Bats are very interesting creatures though. Their life is filled with mysteries and wonders. If you want to find out more about these amazing creatures, then read on.

 

       

 

       Some time ago we might have wondered if bats were birds, because they have the ability to fly. But to my surprise they aren’t. They are the only mammals that have the ability to fly. Their wings are attached to their forelimbs, with greatly lengthened fingers joined by a membrane that extends down to the side of their body. Their body is quite extra ordinary. Besides their body, most bats have to use echolocation to find their food or prey because they sleep during the day and hunt during the night. Echolocation is a physical process for locating distant or invisible objects (such as prey) by the sound waves that are reflected back to the emitter (like a bats ear) from the objects. Bats use frequencies from about 30,000 to about 120,000 Hz. Bats may seem unusual but you could learn a lot from them.

 

       They are many different bats. There are about 900 species of bats. They are found worldwide but mostly in the tropics such as Africa, South Asia, and Australia. There are those that eat fruit or flowers (including pollen and nectar) such as the fruit bat. This species of bats are very colorful. Some are red or yellow, striped, or spotted. They are the smallest species in the family and they reside in caves, rocks, or buildings. Fruit bats are rather isolated and some are outgoing. But unlike these colorful fruit bats, there are the brown tailless vampire bats. These blood-eating bats run very swiftly and leap with quickness. These blood-eating bats live in caves and hollow trees together in colonies. They eat quiet resting birds and mammals. Vampire bats first make a small cut with their sharp teeth, without disturbing the prey and then drinks the blood. These wounds may not seem serious but they can send out rabies or other diseases. Vampire bats are quite different from the free-tailed bat because of their taillessness. The free tailed bat is named for the way a part of he tail extends down to the membrane attached between the hind legs. They are swift fliers with a stout body and long slim wings. They eat insects just like the regular bats. So as you can you see, there are many different types of bats.

 

       Ever hear people say, "You are blind as a bat?" Well that myth is absolutely false. Actually, bats have perfect vision. They cannot see during the night when they go hunting because they live in really dark places such as caves. So they use echolocation instead. Bats live together in colonies. They reside in caves, trees, buildings, crevices, and burrows. They live mostly in the warm regions. Now you should know that the myth that states blind as a bat is false.

 

        Bats do not really live long. Some may live up to twenty (20) years or more. Their age ranges from 20 to 30 years of age. Besides their ages, bats can be very small and also tall. They can be from 2.5 inches to 16 inches tall. Their wings can spread out to nearly five (5) feet. They can also weigh 0.5 oz. to about 2 oz (15-50 g) .The largest of all bats, the flying foxes has a length of 16 in. and its wings spreads out to 5 ft. The fruit bat the smallest species of bats has a height of about 2.5 in. and a wingspan of about 10 in. A lot of people think that bats like to eat humans. That is why some people fear them. People think they are scary just because they live in dark places. Remember, they sleep in the day and hunt at night, so they need a really dark place to sleep at. So don’t be afraid of bats because they are not harmful to people.

 

       In conclusion, Bats are very unusual and fascinating creatures. They come in all different colors and sizes. They are mammals just like us. They are not harmful to humans even though they may seem fearful. They use echolocation to find their prey because they live in dark, rural places. They don’t use echolocation because they are blind because they aren’t blind. Bats have perfect vision. So whenever you hear someone say you are blind as a bat and bats are scary because they eat humans, then you could tell them the truth.


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