Bats are the only truly flying mammals in existence.. They are adapted to nocturnal life and have a cosmopolitan distribution that allows us to find them all over the world, with the exception of the poles. They can live in all kinds of environments, from forests to deserts, and their diets are as varied as their size: the smallest one is called the “botfly bat” and measures around 30 millimeters!
In addition, they are one of the most famous animals that we can find, but the reputation that surrounds them is not always positive. Inspiration for scary characters and protagonists of more than one catastrophic and possibly exaggerated anecdote (no, it’s not common for bats to look for humans to attack), these mammals are much more interesting than you think.
Very few species drink blood
Of the more than a thousand species that make up the Chiroptera order, that is, the group of bats, only three feed on blood, and they are not common in cities. It is the common vampire (Desmodus rotundus) and the white-winged vampire (Diaemus youngi), which are distributed from Mexico to Argentina and Chile, and the hairy-legged vampire (Diphylla ecaudata), which can be seen from the United States to Brazil.
These “vampires” consume nothing more than the equivalent of a tablespoon of blood per night. They get it from other mammals (usually cattle), who rarely notice that something is missing. It is that the image of the vampire that sucks the blood of its victims is one of the myths that surround them: To feed, blood-sucking bats make small incisions in the shape of a v, of which later lick droplets of blood.
Although cases have been detected in Brazil of bats that fed on blood
human, this is occasional, and is attributed to habitat reduction and loss of resources
That they face.
The largest is 1.5M… and eats fruit
Bats are divided into two large groups: the smaller microbats, and the macrobats, also known as bats. flying foxesby the features of his face. As the name of the group indicates, these are large bats. The largest of them all is the Philippine diadema bat (Acerodon jubatus), which can exceed a meter and a half in wingspan. East flying fox It is found only in the jungles of the Philippines, and is in danger of extinction: as with many other species, habitat loss due to deforestation is leaving it with fewer and fewer resources to survive.
But that is not all: It may be scary in size, but this giant bat feeds on nothing but fruit. Indeed, another of the names given to the group of giant bats is “fruit bats”… which leads us to the following interesting fact:
They have a very important ecological role
We already know that few bats actually feed on blood, and that there are others that do so on fruit. The latter are key agents for seed dispersal: the bat eats the fruit, spits out or expels the seeds in the form of fecal matter, and these fall to the ground where they can then germinate. This process of dispersal by animals is called zoochoriaand it is very important, for example, for the afforestation of the jungles and forests where some of them live.
On the other hand, most bats feed on insects, such as mosquitoes and moths. A pregnant female can eat the equivalent of her weight in one night. As you can imagine, this contributes to the natural control (that is, without exterminating them, but regulating their number) of the populations of some insect vectors of diseases, which can represent a danger to humans… as well as being quite annoying.
They are nocturnal plant pollinators.
In addition to those that feed on blood, fruit, insects, or other small vertebrates, many take advantage of the nectar of night flowers. These open at night and usually have a pale color and a particular smell that attracts bats, which come in search of sweet nectar, which they access through long specialized tongues. While they eat, the pollen that allows the sexual reproduction of the plant remains adhered to their fur; thus, when the bat flies to another flower, it will complete the cycle that will allow the plant to reproduce.
This process, like that of seed dispersal, is
extremely important for plant populations, which, to a greater or lesser extent, depend on
them to survive.
Now that you know a little more about this very particular mammal, you know that it is not as dangerous as we were told. Like every animal, it fulfills an ecological role in its environment, and today, when the world faces a huge loss of biodiversity, this is more important than ever. The next time you come across one, don’t be scared, don’t bother it and let it go on its way. If you live in the city, it is important that you know that bats do not seek to enter houses, but they can do so by chasing an insect.