How bats sleep. Why are bats bats? About the difficult life of chiropteran mammals

If you look at how they relax the bats, you might be very surprised - they sleep upside down! From a human point of view, these animals have chosen a very strange way of sleeping, to which they have adapted over the hundreds of thousands of years of their existence on earth. After the hunt, these bats return to their usual habitat, where, clinging to their tiny lower limbs for a suitable ledge, they fall asleep.

In contact with

Classmates

This situation has its advantages - for example, in this way bats are much better protected from predators.

For the first time, the distant ancestors of these bats began to hang upside down. Over time, passed down from generation to generation, this method of relaxation has reached our time. Evolution first made mice's thigh bones too thin for them to support their bodies in a sitting position. Then they completely lost the ability to take off from a flat surface, since they did not have enough strength to push off the ground properly, nor the speed to take off. However, they have learned to take off from an upside down position, although, as you understand, this requires free space below. In addition, these funny animals can simply fall, spreading their wings already in flight. And if the mouse suddenly finds itself on the ground, then it will try with all its might to get onto some tree or ledge, simultaneously clinging to any support with its tenacious claws on its wings.

During daylight hours, these small animals sleep, and hunt only at night, and even then only for a few hours. Moreover, they fall into hibernation, which lasts on average from five to nine months. Thus, bats sleep most of their lives and are awake very little.

Hello, friends!
WITH winter holidays! Let dreams come true! And you will have all the resources for this - finances, health, desire, time! Let love live in every day!

Today I present a new episode of the biological finger theater "BioTOP" on the issue of our honorary why Mark, which was sent from Hungary by his mother Tatyana Pavlova, author of the blog "Sparkling with Happiness".

Mark has already come to BioTOP with questions And , and now it’s waiting for us new question, which every curious child was sure to ask: “Why do bats sleep upside down?” I remember that this column was asked to me and from whose questions this column grew. Get ready to be surprised, because in our biological theater there is no other way. Listen. Some sounds are heard from the clearing.

Chapter 1. Who is sitting in the hollow?

A meerkat balances on a branch, looking into a hollow. He wrinkles his nose with displeasure and pinches it with his paw.

Meerkat: There is a terrible smell in our hollow! I hid dried beetles there, are they really rotten?
Elephant (sniffing air): It's ammonia!
Mudskipper: We have poisonous substances in the air! Put on gas masks!
Monkey: Here's another! To wrinkle your hair? I think it's someone having gas. He probably ate your dried beetles, Meerkat, and got a stomach ache.
Elephant: It's outrageous! Make a toilet out of our hollow!
Monkey: But in my opinion, he didn’t do it on purpose! The bugs tasted so bad that he didn't have time to run.
Owl: Ugh! He's still there!
Meerkat (fluffing his tail militantly): Stop the thief, the eater of other people's beetles!
Monkey (peering into the darkness of the hollow): There is nobody there.
Owl: Raise your head up!
Kaffir Raven: WOW! Hanging upside down! There are a lot of them here!
Mudskipper: Who's that there?
Meerkat (running into a hole): What's the difference! Need a net! Now let's catch my bug eaters!

In the episode, the props use the tree that we made when answering the question why "WHY DON'T MONKEYS FALL FROM TREES?"

Chapter 2. Operation resuscitation

A moment later, the Meerkat was already rushing with a net at the ready along the branch towards the hollow.
Kaffir Raven: Be careful!
Owl: The bad head gives neither paws nor tail rest!
Elephant: Prepare your first aid kit, Galapagos Albatross. I feel like this won't end well...
Monkey: Just in case, I’ll look from afar to take in the whole picture.

A black cloud burst out of the hollow, which knocked the Meerkat off his feet, he fell on the Mud Jumper, who jumped in surprise, and gave the mongoose additional acceleration. While falling, the animal managed to swing its net, and something got caught in the net. Having released the net from his paws, the Meerkat continued its flight, crashed into the side of the Elephant, and fell unconscious. The animal was picked up by Albatross.

Kaffir Raven: He is alive?
Galapagos Albatross (offering smelling salts to Meerkat): Alive! Let's help now!
Meerkat (opened his eyes and jumped to his feet, snorting): That's disgusting! Where's my net? Did I catch him, my bug eater?
Owl (looking after the speeding Meerkat): If there were brains, there would be a concussion.
Elephant (rubbing the bruise with his trunk): Looks like I'll have a Meerkat-shaped bruise on my side...

On the other side of the clearing, an Octopus and an Orangutan appeared. They noticed a revival near the hollow and hurried to the scene.
Meerkat: In the net, something hisses and wriggles, biting the net.
Kaffir Raven: What aggression! How much anger there is in this little creature!
Monkey: It’s good that I look at such things from afar. If I had been in the place of the Elephant when the Meerkat was flying, what would have happened?
Owl: Bruising the entire Monkey.
Mudskipper (looking sympathetically at the grid): This reminds me of fish washed ashore by the tide. They fight like that too.
Orangutan: What do you have there?
Meerkat: We caught the thief of other people's beetles!
Orangutan(pulling the net up): It's a horseshoe bat! He almost suffocated you!

The bat grabbed the net with its hind legs and hung upside down, breathing heavily.
Octopus: Almost choked, poor fellow.
Meerkat: Let him not steal other people's beetles!
Horseshoe bat (sighing after every word): What do you! We don't eat dried beetles, only fresh and buzzing ones.
Meerkat: H Then you were in a crowd in our hollow asking where I hid the beetles?
Horseshoe bat: We wanted to spend the winter there.
Galapagos Albatross: Why did you begin to choke when you got caught in the net?
Horseshoe bat: This is our price for flight perfection.
Octopus: Bats are the only animals that have learned to fly.
Owl(chuckling sarcastically): Our Meerkat also flew today. If it weren’t for our chairman’s side, the mongoose would have flown much further.
Octopus: I mean real active flight!
Monkey: How is this a flight fee?

Chapter 3. Born to fly - cannot crawl

The horseshoe bat flew out of the net and sang plaintively.

SONG OF THE HORSESBEAT
(

To become related to the sky,
I'll tell you a secret:
We had to work hard
And change the skeleton.

Maneuverable and fast
Now we have the flight,
But less bony
Became a lumbar pelvis.

And our legs are thin And,
To run on the ground
But for an air race -
They are suitable s quite.

Flight muscles,
To better secure it,
Breastbone border
I had to splice it into a ring.

Chest in Bose -
Can't expand
In a horizontal position
We will suffocate.

Hanging upside down
They breathe only with their diaphragm,
But they fly best -
Horseshoe mice!

Owl: Stop flying and spinning, Horseshoe Bat! I'm getting dizzy watching you.
Meerkat: I didn't understand anything from the song. Besides the fact that you have the wrong skeleton.
Horseshoe bat: Our skeleton has changed a lot so that we can become better flyers. We cannot take a deep breath, like all of you, because our ribs are fused, but our flying abilities have increased. We are helpless on the ground because our legs have become thin and cannot support us.
Elephant: Poor fellows!

Horseshoe bat: But in flight, powerful legs reduce speed and maneuverability. Once on the ground, we urgently need to rise to the surface in order to take off, or at least hang upside down. Otherwise we will suffocate. But the horseshoe bats became the rulers of the sky. We get more tasty insects. To become the best, you have to sacrifice something.
Meerkat: How do these thin legs hold you up when you are hanging upside down?

Chapter 4. Why don’t bats and birds fall from branches in their sleep?

Horseshoe bat: When we hang upside down, our body weight stretches the tendon, which forces the leg to close. And while the tendon is stretched, the paw does not open. Only when we bend the paw does the tendon weaken and the fingers open.
Kaffir Raven: Everything is like ours. Only our tendon is stretched when we sit on a branch.

Monkey: I still don’t understand what and how you are stretching.
Orangutan: We can't do without modeling! We will model the feet of birds. They have fewer fingers.
Meerkat: Hooray!

Biomodeling of a bird's clenching paw

Orangutan: We will need thread, a cocktail tube, tape, scissors and a paper model of the foot.

1. Let's cut out the model.
2. Let's thread the central thread into the tube.
3. Let's bend the paw. And we will attach the straight part (the shank) to the tube.
4. Secure the ends of the threads to your fingers with tape. We tie them to the central thread from the tube.

5. Now we will carefully pull the central thread up, holding it by the tube, and the foot will shrink.

Horseshoe bat: Yes, we are somewhat similar to birds. We also have a keel - an outgrowth of the sternum on which the flight muscles are attached.
Kaffir Raven: The sky is bringing us closer!
Monkey: Why do they call you Horseshoe Bat? Do they shoe your nose?
Horseshoe bat: My nose has a fold of skin that is a bit like a horseshoe in shape. This fold increases my echolocation abilities.
Meerkat: How is that?
Kaffir Raven: This is when they are “seen” by picking up reflected sound. Even in pitch darkness they can spot the smallest insect.
Meerkat: Wow! I would like echolocation! I would then eat 10 times more scorpions!
Monkey: Therefore bats such big ears, due to echolocation?
Horseshoe bat: Certainly.
Owl: Something doesn't add up here. When I was traveling around Far East, I saw a bat that was hunting on the ground and took off perfectly from it.
Horseshoe bat: So she was probably one of the smooth-nosed people. This is normal for them.
Owl: Do they have a different skeleton?
Horseshoe bat: Certainly! Only horseshoe bats have a skeleton like mine!

Elephant(listening): Is it just me, or is someone snoring?
Everyone turned their heads, and Horseshoe Bat waved his paw in the direction where the sound came from. The sound came from the greenhouse where they grew, which BioTOP studied last year.
Monkey:Our Nepenthes, the pitcher plant, is snoring. I hadn't noticed this about him before.

Chapter 5. Predatory Thumbelina

Meerkat(pushing back the lid of the nepenthes, looking into it): There is someone there, fluffy and red.
Monkey: Oh! So it was Nepenthes who ate someone! And this is not snoring at all, but death rattles! We need to get the poor guy out before the plant predator digests him! For help!
Galapagos Albatross: Where is he, this victim?

A sleepy, dissatisfied face of a bat emerged from the jug.
Bat: Why are you making noise? They don't let Voronkoukh sleep!
Meerkat: Are you sleeping inside a deadly Nepenthes?
Funnel: What's wrong with that? I sleep in the neck of a jug. I can’t reach the stomach fluid, and besides, I’m too big to fall through there. I have a clean, safe, private apartment to sleep in during the day. And the fumes emanating from the digestive fluid cleanse me of fleas, and mosquitoes do not bite me here. And there is protection under the lid from rain.

Mudskipper: That's how Thumbelina is! She also slept in the flower.
Owl: Like Thumbelina, like a flower. Predatory nesting doll! The predator in the predator snores. The predator keeps the predator.
Monkey: How, you Voronkoukh, stay on the slippery surface of the walls of the jug, and even upside down? After all, even insects with their tenacious legs cannot stay on a smooth slide!

Voronkouh(yawning and stretching her front legs forward): I have suction cups on the back legs and on the first toe of the hands. And I sleep upside down so that I can be ready to escape in case of danger. It is inconvenient to get out of the jug in reverse. You can't see what's going on around you. What if there are enemies? They will immediately grab you and eat you.
Meerkat: So not all bats sleep upside down?
Funnel: Of course not! There are many bats that sleep upside down, perched on the leaves. For example, leaf noses, suckers. And many people sleep horizontally.
Octopus: Another human stereotype is evident. He just more often encounters mice sleeping upside down. They live in clusters and are more noticeable.

Chapter 6. Why do Nepenthes need bats?

Orangutan: I understand your benefits, dear Voronkoukh. But whatbenefit for Nepenthes? You are cutting off access for insects that could become its prey. It turns out that you are an unprofitable tenant for him.
Voronkouh: Against! Nepenthes even specially grow convenient upper vessels for my bedrooms, and hang invitations for me on the lids.
Orangutan: I still don’t understand why Nepenthes needs this? Are you spreading its seeds?

Elephant(sniffing): I smell the answer! Smell of ammonia!
Orangutan: This means that Nepenthes receives guano from funnel-ears, which is very rich in nitrogen. So much so that it is considered the best nitrogen fertilizer in the world! After all, due to a lack of nitrogen, Nepenthes hunts insects! And bats defecate in their sleep. Brilliant!
Monkey: How cunning! Not all
Meerkat: We learned so many interesting things! I came up with a game of echolocation.
Elephant: How curious! Tell us!

Chapter 7. Echolocation game and paper crafts "Bats"

Meerkat: The player is blindfolded. The player's task is to find the item that was hidden for him. Other players direct him in unison using the word "PICK!" The closer the player gets to the object, the louder the signal sounds.
Monkey: What if there is a chair or other obstacle in the way of a blindfolded player? He will fall.
Meerkat: Then the signal must be pronounced faster, guiding the player.
Elephant: Great! Let's play!
Octopus: I've already thought of the items to find!
Monkey: I want to search! Blindfold me!

Friends played well. And they found the items hidden by the Octopus: tape, scissors, sewing hooks, templates, paper clips, and a magnet.



Meerkat: What will we do with all these finds?
Octopus: Of course, crafts! First, let's make a bat for the New Year tree.

1. Let's cut out the images from the template. It’s good if the template is printed on thick paper.If you wish, you can color the mouse.When cutting, you need to maintain the connection between the mice in the back area. Bend along the back line. We will make slits along the dotted line in the sides of the body.
2 . Let's roll up the second piece like a fan and fold it in half.


5. The mouse can be decorated with sparkles, hung on a Christmas tree, or on a garland.

And we move on to the magnetic craft of a silhouette bat. We will make a protrusion where the axis of symmetry is observed.

Vytynanka of a bat

1. Let's cut out the bat according to the template, bending the sheet in half to make it symmetrical.

2. Let's attach a paper clip to the bat. And with the help of a magnet behind the cardboard sheet, we can move the mouse, simulating its flight.
3. You can complicate the special effect by tying a thread to a mouse with a paper clip and lowering it between the windows. The magnet will attract the mouse even through glass if it is single.
4. Mice can float on strings under a chandelier. If you blow on them. This exercise develops breathing.


PS: Paper bat crafts are relevant for Halloween and from September 20 to 21 - International Bat Night.

And it's time for us to say goodbye. I present Mark with another certificate of honor! Thank you very much for the good questions.

If your children have questions, write in the comments or by email. Of course, now I’m rummaging around for a long time with the answer, but I still answer.

If you liked it, share the post on in social networks. I wish you the joy of discovery!

Bat has long inspired horror in humans. Many legends and stories have been invented around them unusual image life and appearance. Their sharp teeth and night flights together created the illusion of existence potential danger when meeting them. However, in reality everything is not so, and only some rare species, living in certain places, feed on blood large mammals. The rest are content with insects and have nothing to do with vampirism.

Origin of the species and description

Bats are primarily amazing because they move through the air by flapping their wings like birds. However, they do this exclusively at night, without using one of the main senses - vision. They, of course, are not birds, because they themselves are viviparous and feed their young with milk. And they have nothing in common with birds, except the ability to fly, even feathers.

Video: Bat

Bats belong to the class of mammals in the order Chiroptera. There are a huge number of types. According to various sources, there are from 600 to 1000 species of bats. Of course, it is impossible to consider each species separately without being an expert on these animals.

The main types, the most common and having obvious differences, can be counted on one hand, namely:

• two-tone leather;
• giant noctule;
• white leaf-nosed plant;
• pig-nosed bat;
• great harelip;
• water bat;
• brown long-eared bat;
• dwarf pipistrelle;
• ordinary vampire;
• white-winged vampire;
• hairy vampire.

It is believed that the first bats appeared about 70 million years ago, when small arboreal mammals began to develop membranes on their sides, which later evolved into wings. It is possible that the formation of membranes was caused by a gene mutation. Scientists believe that the change in the body structure of animals occurred quite quickly, since not a single individual of the transitional species has been found to date. That is, the so-called high-speed evolution occurred.

Appearance and features

Bats are quite small in size. The weight of the representative himself small looking, the pig-nosed bat, is about 2 grams, while the body length of the individual is only 33 mm. This is one of the smallest representatives in general among the animal kingdom. The largest bat is the giant false vampire, whose wingspan is 75 cm, and the body weight of an adult is in the range from 150 to 200 grams.

Different types of bats differ from each other appearance and the structure of the skull. But they all have something in common external signs. The main difference from many animals is their wings. They are thin membranes stretched between the front and hind limbs. The wings of bats are significantly different from the wings of birds. They do not have feathers, but have long fingers to which membranes are attached.

Interesting fact: Wings are not only used for flying, but also as a blanket while sleeping. Bats wrap themselves in them to keep warm.

Their hind limbs are also different. They are turned to the sides, and knee joints back. The hind limbs are very developed. With their help, bats can for a long time hang upside down. Moreover, it is in this position that they sleep.

Almost all bats have large ears. Which is not surprising for an animal that does not have good eyesight. Ears are used by bats for echolocation and spatial orientation. The animal emits high-frequency subtle sounds, which are reflected from all objects and then perceived by the animal itself. Ears are equipped large network blood vessels that feed them. The eyes of bats, on the contrary, are very small in size. Vision is monochrome and not sharp. Although there are exceptions, for example, the California leaf-nosed bat, when hunting, relies more on its vision than on its hearing.

Most species of bats are dull in color. They are usually brown or gray, sometimes dark gray. This is due to the need to be undetected while hunting at night. There are also exceptions, for example, some species have white or bright red colors. The hair of animals is thick, single-tiered. In this case, the skin membrane is covered with very sparse hair.

Where does a bat live?

Bats are distributed everywhere, with the exception of polar latitudes, starting from the tundra. There, mice simply have nowhere to hide from the harsh climatic conditions, and the required amount of food is missing. It is especially not comfortable for bats to exist among the snow, even considering the fact that they are capable of hibernating.

The most important condition for their existence is the presence of shelter, which will allow them to hide during daylight hours and sleep every day. As is well known, caves can be like this. Bats simply attach themselves to the ceiling of the cave with their paws upside down and spend daylight hours there. At dusk they begin to fly out to hunt. It is very interesting that when flying out of the cave, bats always fly to the left.

The number of mice living in the caves suggests an accumulation of their droppings on the lower part of the stone niche. Often its accumulation is about a meter.

If there are no caves nearby, then other shelters are suitable, in nature these are trees: mice find secluded places between twigs, fruits or in dense foliage. The most important thing for them is to sunlight didn't hit them. In cities and villages, it is even easier for bats to find shelter - any attic of a residential building will suit them. They are not afraid of people and calmly settle into their houses.

What does a bat eat?

Despite tales of vampirism and the use of bats in horror films such as From Dusk Till Dawn or Dracula, these creatures are completely harmless. They cannot bite a person. However, you should not touch bats - they can carry diseases dangerous to humans or pets, such as rabies.

Most species of bats feed on insects: they are capable of eating up to 200 mosquitoes in an hour of hunting. If we consider the ratio of the animal’s weight and the amount of food eaten, it comes out to be quite a lot, about a fifth of its own weight.

Some species of bats are larger and do not have enough food to eat. small insects and they are carnivores - they eat frogs, lizards, small birds, etc. There are several species of bats that eat fish.

Blood-sucking bats, called vampire bats, feed on the warm blood of animals and usually bite livestock. Bites are painless for animals because, together with saliva, they secrete a substance that has an analgesic effect. However, they can be dangerous because they carry various diseases that can even kill the animal.

There are also many species of bats that feed on plant foods:

• flower pollen;
• tree fruits (usually dates, bananas, mangoes);
• flowers.

Such bats. They live in hot tropical countries where all year round vegetation abounds. Now people are trying to keep exotic animals at home. The bat is no exception and is in demand in the pet market. But if you are not a specialist, you should not do this.

Since these pets are very specific. They require enormous dedication and strictly defined conditions. For food, carnivores can eat cut up meat or offal of birds or animals; herbivores should be fed fruits and given water and milk to drink. The owners also treated the animals with condensed milk as a treat.

Features of character and lifestyle

Bats lead night look life. During the day they sleep, and at the same time they usually hide in various shelters, including underground. They are very fond of caves, tree hollows, earthen holes, as well as quarries and mines; they can hide under tree branches and under bird nests.

They usually live in small colonies of several dozen individuals. Although there are also more populous colonies, including those consisting of several different subspecies of bats. The colony of Brazilian folded lips, consisting of 20 million individuals, is considered to be the record in number today.

IN winter period Most bats hibernate. But some are capable of migrating like birds to more warmer climes, covering distances up to 1000 km. Hibernation, depending on the area, can reach 8 months.

Hibernation occurs upside down, by hanging on the hind legs. This turns out to be convenient so that you can immediately go on a flight, spending less strength and time. No energy is spent on hanging due to the structural features of the limbs.

Interesting fact: on the island of Borneo there is a unique carnivorous plant that attracts bats with special sounds. But it does not eat them, but on the contrary, provides its inflorescences to bats as a refuge. Animals leave their excrement for the plant, which it uses as fertilizer. In nature, such a symbiosis is unique.

For orientation in space and for hunting, they use echolocation, which helps them maneuver, control their flight altitude and distance to the cave walls. It is believed that during a hunt, bats become aware not only of the distance to the pursued target, but also the direction of its flight, and even what type of prey it belongs to.

Social structure and reproduction

Living together in a colony does not make bats gregarious. Animals do not perform any joint actions and also hunt exclusively alone. They also do not start families. Two individuals unite only at the moment of mating, and then immediately forget about each other.

Most of the bats that live in temperate climate, begin to reproduce in the spring. There are usually between two and five babies in a litter, but the exact number varies greatly depending on conditions. environment. The female produces offspring once a year. She feeds the cubs until they develop wings. Adulthood lasts for different subspecies different time.

For small subspecies of bats, it typically takes 6 to 8 weeks until they become independent. For large subspecies of animals this period can reach four months. In the first week, the female usually takes the cub with her on night hunts. At the same time, he holds tightly to his mother during the flight. In the following weeks, he becomes heavy, so she leaves him in the shelter during the hunt.

Interesting fact: female bats have the ability to control their gestation time and also delay the birth of their offspring. They need this so that their offspring are born at a time when the amount of food is maximum. Very often, mating occurs in the fall, but fertilization occurs only in the spring.

The lifespan of bats directly depends on the specific subspecies. Mostly bats live 20 years, but there are subspecies with a life expectancy of no more than 5 years.

Natural enemies of bats

Bats have quite a few enemies. This is primarily due to their small size and nocturnal lifestyle, when they go hunting much more large predators. For them, bats serve as excellent prey.

Among the predators that are especially dangerous for bats, it is fashionable to highlight the following:

• owls;
• candles;
• falcon, and others predator birds;
• rats;
• predatory fish;
• ferrets.

Not only do they get poisoned from these procedures in their homes, they also lose part of their food. Insects living in the area also die from these poisons, and the mice may not have enough food. Therefore, it is believed that bats do not have an easy life, and they need additional protection from humans. However, their specific lifestyle does not allow even this, because these animals are selective and difficult to monitor.

Population and species status

Most bat species have endangered status. Some subspecies have vulnerable status, requiring constant monitoring.

The population in the 20th century was mainly negatively affected by the development Agriculture, environmental pollution, and habitat loss. But at the same time, there were cases of deliberate extermination, destruction of nests and treatment of roofs and attics of houses with repellents. Studies have also been conducted in the United States that have shown that wind power plants also affect the number of bats. Bats die from collisions with wind turbine blades and from lung damage due to pressure drops near the blades.

But because bats are central to the ecosystem, measures are being taken to protect them. In Europe, they are actually the only natural regulator of the number of insects that are active at night. Thanks to bat conservation efforts, populations of some subspecies have stabilized and some have increased.

The European Environment Agency, based on a study of nearly 6,000 nesting sites, concluded that bat numbers increased by 43% between 1993 and 2011. But these are average numbers, and, unfortunately, the numbers of some subspecies continue to decline.

Bat conservation

In countries European Union all species of bats are protected in accordance with EU directives and international conventions. Russia also signed all international agreements for the protection of bats. Many of them are included in the Red Book. According to Russian legislation, not only the bats themselves are subject to protection, but also their habitats and shelters. In particular, even the sanitary inspection and veterinary control authorities cannot take any measures in relation to bat settlements in the city.

As measures to protect bats, the presence of animal settlements and their migration routes are taken into account during the construction of wind turbine parks. Supervision is carried out in protected areas and informing visitors security zones about the rules established to protect bats. Artificial lighting in their habitats is being reduced.

To inform citizens about the need to protect animals and to attract people's attention to the problem of their protection, the environmental holiday “International Bat Night” is celebrated annually on September 21. In Europe, bat night has been celebrated for almost 20 years. It has been taking place in our country since 2003.

Contrary to their name, their bat namesakes are not even related to ordinary mice. While ordinary mice belong to the order of rodents, bat mice are representatives of the order Chiroptera, which has little overlap with rodents. But where did the name "bat" come from? The fact is that bats were so named due to their small size and squeak, very similar to the squeak of mouse rodents.

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

The order Chiroptera, to which bats actually belong, is especially notable for the fact that they are, in fact, the only mammals capable of flight. Now, it’s true that the order of bats includes not only flying mice, but also other equally flying brothers: flying dogs, flying mice, as well as fruit flying mice, which differ from their brothers - ordinary bats, both in their habits and in their body structure.

As we already mentioned, bats are small in size. The weight of the smallest representative of this species, the pig-nosed bat, does not exceed 2 grams, and the body length reaches a maximum of 3.3 cm. In fact, this is one of the smallest representatives of the animal kingdom.

The largest representative of the bat family, the giant false vampire, has a mass of 150-200 g and a wingspan of up to 75 cm.

Different species of bats have different skull structures, the number of teeth also varies and largely depends on the diet of a particular species. For example, the tailless long-tongued leaf-nosed insect, which feeds on nectar, has an elongated facial part. Nature made it so wise that he had somewhere to accommodate his long tongue, in turn necessary for obtaining food.

But predator bats that feed on insects already have the so-called heterodont dental system, which includes incisors, canines and molars. Small bats, which eat even smaller insects, have up to 38 small teeth, while large vampire bats have only up to 20. The fact is that vampires do not need many teeth, since they do not chew their food. But they have sharp fangs that make a bleeding wound on the body of the victim.

Traditionally, bats, almost all species, have large ears, which are responsible, among other things, for their amazing echolocation abilities.

The forelimbs of bats were transformed into wings over a long period of time. The elongated fingers began to serve as the frame of the wing. But the first finger with the claw remains free. With its help, bats can even eat and perform various other actions, although in some of them, such as smoky bats, it is not functional.

The speed of a bat depends on the shape and structure of its wing. They, in turn, can be very long, or vice versa with a slight extension. Wings with a lower aspect ratio do not allow them to develop high speed, but they can be easily maneuvered, which is very useful for bats living in the forest, which often have to fly among the treetops. In general, the flight speed of a bat ranges from 11 to 54 km per hour. But the Brazilian folded lip, from the genus of bulldog bats, is the absolute record holder for flight speed - it is capable of reaching speeds of up to 160 km per hour!

The hind limbs of bats have a characteristic difference - they are turned to the sides with the knee joints back. With the help of well-developed hind legs, bats hang upside down, and in this seemingly (to us) uncomfortable position they sleep.

Bats, like any decent mammals, have a tail, which can also be different lengths depending on the type. They also have bodies (and sometimes limbs) covered with fur. The coat can be smooth, shaggy, short or thick, again depending on the species. The color also varies, usually whitish and yellowish shades predominate.

A Honduran white bat with a very unusual coloring - white fur contrasts with yellow ears and nose.

However, there are also representatives of bats with a body completely without hair - these are two naked-skinned bats from Southeast Asia.

The vision of bats leaves much to be desired; the eyes are poorly developed. In addition, they do not distinguish colors at all. But poor eyesight This is more than compensated by excellent hearing, which, in fact, is the main sense organ in these animals. For example, some of the bats can detect the rustling of insects swarming in the grass.

Their charm is also well developed. For example, females of the Brazilian folded lip are able to find their cubs by smell. Some bats sense their prey by smell, as well as by hearing, and can also distinguish between “their” and “foreign” bats.

How do bats navigate in the dark?

It's simple, bats “see with their ears.” After all, they have such amazing property like echolocation. How does it work? And so, animals emit ultrasonic waves, which are reflected from objects and return back through an echo. Incoming return signals are carefully recorded by bats, thanks to this they are perfectly oriented in space and even hunt. Moreover, through reflected sound waves they can not only see their potential prey, but even determine its speed and size.

To emit ultrasonic signals, nature has equipped bats with a specially designed mouth and nose. First, the sound originates in the throat, then is produced by the mouth and goes to the nose, radiating through the nostrils. The nostrils themselves have various bizarre projections that serve to shape and focus sound.

People can only hear how bats squeak, because the ultrasonic waves emitted by them are not perceived by the human ear. Interesting fact: earlier, when humanity did not know about the existence of ultrasound, the amazing orientation of bats in pitch darkness was explained by the presence of extrasensory abilities.

Where do bats live

They live practically all over the world, of course, with the exception of the cold Arctic regions. But most of them live in the tropics and subtropics.

Bats are nocturnal or twilight image life. During the day, they usually hide in various shelters, both underground and above ground. They especially love caves, quarries, mines, and can hide in tree hollows or under branches. Some bats even take shelter under bird nests during the day.

Bats, as a rule, live in small colonies - up to several dozen individuals. But there are colonies of bats that are much more populous; the colony of Brazilian folded lips is considered a record, boasting the presence of 20 million individuals. On the other hand, there are bats that prefer to lead a solitary lifestyle.

Where do bats hibernate?

Some of the bats living in our temperate latitudes, with the onset of winter cold, they similarly fall into hibernation. Some, like birds, migrate to warmer places.

Why do bats sleep upside down?

The seemingly strange habit of bats sleeping upside down, hanging on their hind legs, also has very practical reasons. The fact is that this position allows them to instantly take flight. To do this, you just need to unclench your paws. Thus, less energy is wasted and time is saved, which can be very important in case of danger. The hind legs of bats are designed in such a way that hanging on them does not require the expenditure of muscle energy.

What do bats eat?

Most bats feed on insects, but there are also absolute vegetarians among them, preferring pollen and plant nectar, as well as various fruits. There are also omnivorous bats that love both plant foods and small insects, and some large species even hunt fish and small birds. Bats are excellent hunters, largely due to their wonderful echolocation property, which we described above. They stand apart in terms of nutrition vampire bats, feeding exclusively on the blood of wild and domestic animals (however, they can also feast on human blood), hence the name.

Types of bats, photos and names

Here is a description of the most interesting bats in our opinion.

Particularly interesting for its appearance, yellow ears and nose against a background of white fur. It also differs from other bats in the absence of a tail. The white leaf-nosed plant is very small in size, its body length does not exceed 4.7 cm, and its weight is 7 grams. Leaf-noses live in South and Central America, preferring as a home rain forests. They are herbivores and feed exclusively on fruits. They live in small colonies of up to ten individuals.

The giant noctule is the largest bat found in Europe. The body length of the noctule reaches 10 cm, and the weight is 76 grams. Has fur Brown. The noctule usually lives in forests, inhabiting tree hollows. You can also find it on the territory of our Ukraine. It feeds on large insects, beetles,... Also listed in .

It is notable for the fact that it is the smallest representative of the bat family. Its length is only 2.9-3.3 cm, and everything is no more than 2 grams. However, it has quite large ears. The nose is very similar to the snout of a pig, hence the name of this species. The pig-nosed bat's color is often gray or dark brown. Live in South-East Asia, especially many of them live in Thailand and its neighboring countries. Interesting feature The habit of pig-nosed mice is their collective hunting. They hunt in groups of up to five individuals at night. Due to their small numbers, pig-nosed bats are currently listed in the Red Book.

This species got its name due to the color of its fur, which has two colors - its back is red or dark brown, and its belly is white or gray. The two-colored kazan lives across a wide range: from England and France to Pacific Ocean. These bats are found not only in natural conditions, but also in human cities, they may well live in the attics and eaves of houses. Night for them is the time to hunt for various small animals - flies, moths. Also endangered.

She is also Daubanton's bat, named after the French naturalist Louis Jean Marie Daubanton. It is small in size, its length is no more than 5.5 cm, and its weight is up to 15 grams. The fur color is usually dark or brown. The habitat is the same as that of the kazhan, almost throughout the entire territory of Eurasia. The life of the water bat is closely connected with bodies of water (hence the first name), it is near them that they like to hunt, especially mosquitoes, which are also found in abundance near ponds and lakes.

The Ushan is so named due to its amazing, by no means small, ears. The long-eared bat also lives in Eurasia, but is also found in North Africa. They like to live in mountain caves, where they lead sedentary image life.

He is also the small-headed bat - the smallest representative of bats in Europe, his body length is no more than 45 mm, and his weight is up to 6 grams. His body really is very similar to that of an ordinary mouse, only with wings. This species also loves to settle in places close to humans.

This species is mountainous, as it loves to settle in mountain caves, canyons, and crevices. Lives over a wide geographical range - Eurasia and North Africa, wherever there is mountainous terrain you can find a large horseshoe bat. They hunt moths and beetles.

It is thanks to this species that bats, which are generally very useful in the ecosystem (at least by killing mosquitoes), have their bad reputation. But an ordinary vampire, in fact, like the famous Count Dracula, feeds on blood, including possibly human blood. But as a rule, various domestic animals become their victims and food supply: pigs. Vampires, as expected, go about their dark business at night, when their victims are in deep sleep. They sit on them unnoticed, biting through the skin of the victim, from which they then drink blood. However, a vampire’s bite is invisible and painless due to the special secret that they possess. But this is where the danger lies, since the victim may die from blood loss. A vampire bite can also transmit the rabies or plague virus. Fortunately, vampire bats live only in the subtropics of Central and South America, in our latitudes bats are absolutely harmless.

How do bats reproduce?

Bats usually breed twice a year: in spring and autumn. Pregnancy in bats also lasts for different periods of time, depending on the habitat and species. Females give birth to one to three babies at a time.

The development of small bats occurs very quickly; within a week, the cub doubles in size. At first, the babies feed on their mother's milk, and after a month of life they begin to hunt on their own.

How long do bats live?

The lifespan of bats ranges from 4 to 30 years, again depending on the species and habitat.

Enemies of bats

Bats also have their own enemies, who in turn can hunt them. Usually these are birds of prey: peregrine falcons, hobby birds, and also owls. A snake, marten and weasel will not mind grabbing a bat.

But the main enemy of bats (as well as many other animals) is, of course, humans. The use of chemicals in crop production has significantly reduced the number of bats; many of the species are already listed in the Red Book, as they are on the verge of extinction.

Bat bite

All bats, with the exception of the common vampire, do not pose any danger to humans, and they can bite only for the purpose of self-defense.

Why are bats dangerous?

Again, with the exception of blood-sucking vampire bats, other representatives of this order are completely harmless.

Benefits of bats

But the benefits of bats are much greater:

• Firstly, they are exterminators of many harmful and unpleasant insects (especially mosquitoes), which are carriers of possible diseases. They also eat butterflies and caterpillars - pests of fruit forests.
• Secondly, herbivorous bats that feed on nectar simultaneously contribute to plant pollination by transporting pollen over long distances.
• Thirdly, the droppings of some bats are very useful as fertilizers.
• And fourthly, bats are very important for science, especially when it comes to the study of ultrasound and echolocation.

How to get rid of bats

But still, if bats have settled near the house, for example, under the roof, despite all their benefits, they can be annoying, especially because of their squeaking. To get rid of bats under your roof, cottage or attic, you need to follow these instructions:

• First you will need to find a place where bats rest during the day. Then, after waiting for them to fly away for the night hunt, simply cover this place with a crowbar or something else.
• You can try to smoke them out.
• You can spray their habitats with special sprays whose odors will repel mice.

• Bats always fly to the left side of cover.
• Substances contained in the saliva of vampires are now used as medicines to prevent the formation of blood clots.
• If in our culture bats are associated with vampires and other evil spirits, then in Chinese culture they are, on the contrary, symbols of harmony and happiness.
• A bat is very voracious, so in an hour it can eat up to 100 mosquitoes, in human terms, this is about the same as eating a hundred pizzas in an hour.

Bats video

And in conclusion interesting video about bats.

When writing the article, I tried to make it as interesting, useful and high-quality as possible. I will be grateful for any feedback and constructive criticism in the form of comments on the article. You can also write your wish/question/suggestion to my email. [email protected] or on Facebook, sincerely the author.

The age-old question about bats that like to hang upside down. Yes, it is really strange why an animal, a mammal, prefers to be in this position. Of course, some species of monkeys like to behave this way, but only when they have nothing to do. But bats are the only living creatures that actually spend most of their lives hanging upside down: feeding, caring for their young, nesting and sleeping.

There's a very good reason why they do this: in order to fly, they need to hang upside down.

First, we must recognize that bats are not birds or insects that use standard flight (as opposed to gliding flight). The difference between the flight of a bat and a bird or insect is weight - for example, the ratio of weight to the lift of the wings. If you approach a bird or insect, most species will be able to quickly take off from a stationary state.

But bats can't do that. They have serious difficulty taking off from the ground (not to say it's impossible, they can do it... it's just very difficult). Insects and birds often jump into the air when taking off to select the right direction in flight, then their strong wings quickly lift them up and up. Birds have hollow bones, but bats do not. Insects are composed of light chitin or soft tissue; bats are not. And mice don't have what we call "powerful" wings. These beautiful creatures are primarily mammals. The only mammal species that can fly. Nature acted outside the box and endowed them with wings, so a compromise had to be made. Bats feel great in the air, and in some way give a head start to birds. The only problem is takeoff.

To compensate for the availability excess weight mammal and difficulty taking off, evolution has found another way to transition from a stationary state to flight in bats. Evolution decided that it was best to hang them upside down to make swinging movements easier.

It was great idea, as it turned out. Except the bat can't land on a branch. They are mammals, not birds, and their muscles, bones, and tendons are built differently. When a bird sits on a branch, its paws firmly grasp the branch due to the peculiarity of the tendons. This happens automatically. This common feature for all types of birds. And the answer to the question why they don’t fall in their sleep.

In mammals, everything works differently. Therefore, to compensate this fact, nature decided to endow them with the property of hanging upside down. Thus, their tendons are designed in such a way that they close their legs with reverse side, not like birds. This is the result of evolution. When a bat is hanging and suddenly needs to fly away, it simply opens its paws and takes off as it falls. In fact, using this gravity-based method, they achieve instantaneous flight faster than birds, which have to cope with gravity.

Note: If you're wondering how bats defecate in this position... It's not a problem. The excrement is similar to grains of rice, it simply falls down to the ground when the mice are in a hanging position. They only urinate during the flight.

So now everything is clear. Bats hang upside down because they are mammals and cannot fly into the air like birds (at least without problems). But if they need to fly, they simply let go of what they are holding on to. Makes sense, right?

Evolution: the more you study, the more interesting things you discover