Information about the bat interesting facts. Bat animal

An insectivorous bat can eat up to 200 mosquitoes in an hour of hunting.

Lifestyle

Although bats are divided into many species and live in different natural conditions, their habits are surprisingly similar. Almost all of them are nocturnal, and during the day they sleep hanging upside down. Bats do not build nests. Bats are capable of falling into torpor, accompanied by a decrease in metabolic rate, respiration rate and heart rate; many are able to fall into long-term seasonal hibernation. Due to large and thin wings, the bat quickly loses heat, so to maintain high temperature body she needs to eat a lot. In one summer, a colony of hundreds of individuals destroys about 10 million insects.

Spreading

Area bats practically coincides with the range of the order Chiroptera.

Using echolocation

Bats detect objects blocking their path by emitting sounds inaudible to humans and picking up their echoes reflected from objects. Before the discovery of ultrasonic echolocation, bats were thought to have extrasensory perception. They were deprived of the ability to use their eyesight, their wings were covered with thick varnish to deprive them of the ability to feel air currents, and still they avoided obstacles located in the experimental chamber.

While flying, bats sing songs using complex combinations of syllables, high frequencies(due to their ability to echolocation). They produce ultrasonic waves between 40 and 100 kHz. The call of the Brazilian folded lip consists of 15 to 20 syllables. When courting a female, each male sings his own song, although in general the melodies of all songs are similar. The difference lies in the individual combination of different syllables. Complex voice messages are used not only for courtship, but also for identifying each other, designating social status, determining territorial boundaries, when raising offspring and when countering individuals who have invaded someone else's territory. According to biologist Michael Smotherman, no other mammal except humans has the ability to communicate using such complex vocal sequences. The vocal center, responsible for organizing complex sequences of syllables, is located slightly higher in bats than in humans, and scientists cannot yet determine exactly where it is located.

Bats that feed on fish (for example, the Mexican fish-eating mouse) patrol the water surface at night, emitting very strong echolocation signals. However, these signals do not penetrate the water column. The mouse will not detect the fish underwater, but will immediately find it if the fish sticks out at least a small part of its body from the water.

Echolocation of bats varies among different families. Horseshoe bats emit signals through their nose, and these signals are short (50-100 ms) ultrasonic bursts with a constant frequency of 81-82 kHz, but at the end of the signal the frequency drops sharply to 10-14 kHz. And smooth-nosed bats emit significantly shorter (2-5 ms) signals through their mouths with a frequency that during this time drops from 130 to 30-40 kHz.

Bats are able to detect obstacles made of wires at a distance of 17 meters. The detection range depends on the wire diameter. A wire with a diameter of 0.4 mm will be found from a distance of 4 meters, and a wire with a diameter of 0.08 mm - from 50 cm. Wavelength of typical location signals bat- about 4 mm. However, the mouse reacts not only to the thickness, but also to the length of the wire, with the result that if the segment is long enough, the wire will be detected.

Danger

Bats in culture

A bat is a chimera, a monstrous impossible creature, a symbol of dreams, nightmares, ghosts, a sick imagination... The general irregularity and monstrosity seen in the body of a bat, the ugly anomalies in the structure of the senses, allowing the disgusting animal to hear with its nose and see with its ears - all this, as if deliberately, adjusted to ensure that the bat was a symbol of mental disorder and madness.

In the LEGO (LEGO Chima) line, one of the Outland clans is the clan of bats.
European dragons and demons are traditionally depicted with bat wings.
In the novel Dracula, vampires first began to turn into bats.
Stylized images of a bat are symbols of Batman and Batgirl.
Flying fox - companion of the Wolfhound
Rouge the Bat is a character in the Sonic the Hedgehog game series and the Sonic X anime.
In some episodes of the television series "Jurassic Portal" giant blind and flightless descendants of bats from the future appear, capable of killing a lion.
In the second episode of the film “Wild World of the Future” there are deadly bats - predatory social bats with a wingspan of 1.5 m.
One of the monsters in the film “Nymphomaniac Savage in Dinosaur Hell” is a mutated bat. This becomes clear when he is shown hanging upside down from the ceiling of the cave.
Ludwig is a bat from the animated series "Fairies".
In the second season of the animated series "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" (2012), scientist Kirby O'Neil turns into a bat.
Zubat, Golbat, Crobat, Woobat, Swoobat, Noibat and Noivern are bat Pokemon.
In the animated series "DuckTales" in the episode "Zigzag's First Crash", the heroes are attacked by screechies - giant white bats.
In the cartoon "The Cat Trap" Intermouse agent Lazy Dick is captured by a gang of bats.
In the animated series Chip 'n' Dale Rescue Rangers, the cute bat Foxglove appears in the episode "My Friend the Bat".
In the video game Resident Evil 5, one of the bosses is Popokarimu, a huge cross between a bat and a caterpillar. It appears in the game twice: the first time - in the mountains, the second - in the tombs, as a mini-boss.
In the animated series “My Little Pony. Friendship is Magic,” in the episode “Bats!”, the heroes solve the problem of fruit bats that are devastating Applejack's apple farm.
The identity of the BatPaper publication is based on it.
In the animated series "Adventure Time" The character Marceline (the vampire queen) can turn into a bat. In the Transformers universe there is a Decepticon cassette player who transforms into a bat - ratbat

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Notes

Sources

Naumov N. P., Kartashev N. N. Zoology of vertebrates. - Part 2.- Reptiles, birds, mammals: A textbook for biologists. specialist. Univ.-M.: Higher. school, 1979. - 272 p., ill.
Mosiyash S. S. Flying at night. - M.: Knowledge, 1985.

Literature

// Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.
// Small Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 4 volumes - St. Petersburg. , 1907-1909.
Bats // Great Soviet Encyclopedia: [in 30 volumes] / ch. ed. A. M. Prokhorov. - 3rd ed. - M. : Soviet encyclopedia, 1969-1978.

Excerpt characterizing Bats

The gray-haired valet sat dozing and listening to the prince's snoring in the huge office. From the far side of the house, from behind the closed doors, difficult passages of Dussek's sonata were heard twenty times repeated.
At this time, a carriage and britzka drove up to the porch, and Prince Andrei got out of the carriage, dropped off his little wife and let her go ahead. Gray-haired Tikhon, in a wig, leaned out of the waiter's door, reported in a whisper that the prince was sleeping, and hastily closed the door. Tikhon knew that neither the arrival of his son nor any unusual events should have disrupted the order of the day. Prince Andrei apparently knew this as well as Tikhon; he looked at his watch, as if to see if his father’s habits had changed during the time during which he had not seen him, and, making sure that they had not changed, he turned to his wife:
“He’ll get up in twenty minutes.” Let’s go to Princess Marya,” he said.
The little princess gained weight during this time, but her eyes and short lip with a mustache and smile rose just as cheerfully and sweetly when she spoke.
“Mais c"est un palais,” she said to her husband, looking around, with the expression with which one speaks of praise to the owner of the ball. “Allons, vite, vite!... [Yes, this is a palace! – Let’s go quickly, quickly!...] - She , looking around, smiled at Tikhon, her husband, and the waiter who saw them off.
- C "est Marieie qui s" exercise? Allons doucement, il faut la surprendre. [Is this Marie exercising? Hush, let's take her by surprise.]
Prince Andrei followed her with a courteous and sad expression.
“You’ve grown old, Tikhon,” he said, passing, to the old man who was kissing his hand.
In front of the room in which the clavichord could be heard, a pretty blond Frenchwoman jumped out of a side door.
M lle Bourienne seemed distraught with delight.
- Ah! “quel bonheur pour la princesse,” she spoke. - Enfin! Il faut que je la previenne. [Oh, what joy for the princess! Finally! We need to warn her.]
“Non, non, de grace... Vous etes m lle Bourienne, je vous connais deja par l"amitie que vous porte ma belle soeur,” said the princess, kissing the Frenchwoman. “Elle ne nous attend pas?” [No, no, please ... You are Mamzel Burien; I already know you from the friendship that my daughter-in-law has for you. She is not expecting us?]
They approached the door of the sofa, from which they could hear the passage being repeated again and again. Prince Andrey stopped and winced, as if expecting something unpleasant.
The princess entered. The passage broke off in the middle; a cry was heard, the heavy feet of Princess Marya and the sounds of kisses. When Prince Andrei entered, the princess and princess only once a short time those who saw each other during the wedding of Prince Andrei, clasped their hands, firmly pressed their lips to the places where they fell in the first minute. M lle Bourienne stood near them, pressing her hands to her heart and smiling piously, apparently as ready to cry as to laugh.
Prince Andrey shrugged his shoulders and winced, as music lovers wince when they hear a false note. Both women released each other; then again, as if afraid of being late, they grabbed each other by the hands, began to kiss and tear off their hands, and then again began to kiss each other on the face, and completely unexpectedly for Prince Andrei, both began to cry and began to kiss again. M lle Bourienne also began to cry. Prince Andrei was obviously embarrassed; but it seemed so natural to the two women that they were crying; it seemed that they did not even imagine that this meeting could take place otherwise.
- Ah! here!…Ah! Marieie!... – both women suddenly spoke and laughed. – J"ai reve cette nuit... – Vous ne nous attendez donc pas?... Ah! Marieie,vous avez maigri... – Et vous avez repris... [Ah, dear!... Ah, Marie!... – And I saw it in a dream. – So you weren’t expecting us?... Oh, Marie, you’ve lost so much weight - And you’ve gained so much weight...]
“J"ai tout de suite reconnu madame la princesse, [I immediately recognized the princess,] - inserted m lle Burien.
“Et moi qui ne me doutais pas!...” exclaimed Princess Marya. - Ah! Andre, je ne vous voyais pas. [But I didn’t suspect!... Oh, Andre, I didn’t even see you.]
Prince Andrei kissed his sister hand in hand and told her that she was the same pleurienicheuse [crybaby] as she always was. Princess Marya turned to her brother, and through her tears, the loving, warm and gentle gaze of her large, beautiful, radiant eyes at that moment rested on the face of Prince Andrei.
The princess spoke incessantly. Every now and then a short upper lip with a mustache would fly down for a moment, touch, where necessary, the ruddy lower lip, and again a smile would be revealed, shining with teeth and eyes. The princess told an incident that happened to them on Spasskaya Hill, which threatened her with danger in her position, and immediately after that she said that she had left all her dresses in St. Petersburg and would wear God knows what here, and that Andrei had completely changed, and that Kitty Odyntsova married an old man, and that there is a groom for Princess Marya pour tout de bon, [quite serious,] but we’ll talk about that later. Princess Marya still silently looked at her brother, and in her beautiful eyes there was both love and sadness. It was clear that she had now established her own train of thought, independent of her daughter-in-law’s speeches. In the middle of her story about the last holiday in St. Petersburg, she turned to her brother:
– And you are determined to go to war, Andre? – oia said, sighing.
Lise shuddered too.
“Even tomorrow,” answered the brother.
– II m"abandonne ici,et Du sait pourquoi, quand il aur pu avoir de l"avancement... [He leaves me here, and God knows why, when he could get a promotion...]
Princess Marya did not listen to the end and, continuing the thread of her thoughts, turned to her daughter-in-law, pointing at her belly with gentle eyes:
- Maybe? - she said.
The princess's face changed. She sighed.
“Yes, I guess,” she said. - Ah! It's very scary…
Lisa's lip dropped. She brought her face closer to her sister-in-law's and suddenly began to cry again.
“She needs to rest,” said Prince Andrei, wincing. – Isn’t it true, Lisa? Take her to your place, and I’ll go to the priest. What is he, still the same?
- Same, same; “I don’t know about your eyes,” the princess answered joyfully.
- And the same hours, and walks along the alleys? Machine? - asked Prince Andrei with a barely noticeable smile, showing that despite all his love and respect for his father, he understood his weaknesses.
“The same clock and machine, also mathematics and my geometry lessons,” Princess Marya answered joyfully, as if her geometry lessons were one of the most joyful experiences of her life.
When the twenty minutes that were needed for the old prince to get up had passed, Tikhon came to call the young prince to his father. The old man made an exception to his lifestyle in honor of his son’s arrival: he ordered him to be allowed into his half while dressing before dinner. The prince walked in the old fashion, in a caftan and powder. And while Prince Andrei (not with that grumpy expression and manners that he put on in the living rooms, but with that animated face that he had when he talked to Pierre) came to his father, the old man was sitting in the dressing room on a wide, morocco upholstered chair, in a powder room, leaving his head in Tikhon’s hands.
- A! Warrior! Do you want to conquer Bonaparte? - said the old man and shook his powdered head, as much as the braided braid in Tikhon’s hands allowed. “At least take good care of him, otherwise he’ll soon write us down as his subjects.” - Great! - And he stuck out his cheek.
The old man was in good spirits after a pre-dinner nap. (He said that after lunch silver dream, and before lunch it’s golden.) He joyfully glanced sideways at his son from under his thick, overhanging eyebrows. Prince Andrei came up and kissed his father in the place he indicated. He did not answer his father’s favorite topic of conversation - making fun of the current military people, and especially Bonaparte.
“Yes, I came to you, father, and with my pregnant wife,” said Prince Andrei, watching with animated and respectful eyes the movement of every feature of his father’s face. – How is your health?
“Unhealthy, brother, there are only fools and libertines, but you know me: busy from morning to evening, abstinent, and well, healthy.”
“Thank God,” said the son, smiling.
- God has nothing to do with it. Well, tell me,” he continued, returning to his favorite hobby, “how did the Germans fight Bonaparte in your way?” new science, a strategy called, taught.
Prince Andrei smiled.
“Let me come to my senses, father,” he said with a smile, showing that his father’s weaknesses did not prevent him from respecting and loving him. - After all, I haven’t settled in yet.
“You’re lying, you’re lying,” the old man shouted, shaking his braid to see if it was braided tightly, and grabbing his son’s hand. - The house is ready for your wife. Princess Marya will take her and show her and talk a lot about her. This is their woman's business. I'm glad for her. Sit and tell me. I understand Mikhelson’s army, Tolstoy too... a one-time landing... What will the Southern Army do? Prussia, neutrality... I know that. Austria what? - he said, getting up from his chair and walking around the room with Tikhon running and handing pieces of clothing. - Sweden what? How will Pomerania be transferred?
Prince Andrei, seeing the urgency of his father’s demand, was reluctant at first, but then became more and more animated and involuntarily, in the middle of the story, out of habit, switched from Russian to French, began to outline the operational plan for the proposed campaign. He told how an army of ninety thousand had to threaten Prussia in order to bring it out of neutrality and draw it into the war, how part of these troops had to unite with Swedish troops, how two hundred and twenty thousand Austrians, in conjunction with one hundred thousand Russians, were to act in Italy and on the Rhine, and how fifty thousand Russians and fifty thousand English would land in Naples, and how, as a result, an army of five hundred thousand was to different sides make an attack on the French. The old prince did not show the slightest interest in the story, as if he was not listening, and, continuing to get dressed as he walked, unexpectedly interrupted him three times. Once he stopped him and shouted:
- White! white!
This meant that Tikhon did not give him the vest he wanted. Another time he stopped and asked:
- And will she give birth soon? - and, shaking his head reproachfully, said: - Not good! Keep going, keep going.
The third time, when Prince Andrey was finishing the description, the old man sang in a false and senile voice: “Malbroug s"en va t en guerre. Dieu sait guand reviendra." [Malbroug is getting ready to go on a campaign. God knows when he will return.]
The son just smiled.
“I’m not saying that this is a plan that I approve,” said the son, “I just told you what it is.” Napoleon had already drawn up his own plan no worse than this.

Nature knows how to surprise. Some of her creations are so unique and mysterious that you are simply amazed. For example, bats. Who doesn't remember the chilling story or movie about Count Dracula? Who in childhood did not hear horror stories about vampire mice that would fly in at night and drink your blood?

Why children, many adults are full of fears and superstitions when it comes to these twilight-night hunters. Of course, all this is nonsense. A bat will not drink human blood (although there are indeed vampires among them). On the contrary, for farmers and gardeners who are not burdened by groundless fears, this animal is a welcome guest, because the benefits of its activities on agricultural land are simply enormous.

Bat habitat The creature with webbed wings is the only flying mammal on the planet. This fact alone makes it unique and inimitable. It’s unlikely to be easy to meet him in everyday life, like a dove or a sparrow . Although it is believed that the bat is distributed almost throughout the entire globe, with the exception of the Arctic Circle, the tundra and very distant islands in Pacific Ocean

. But on some other islands it is the only representative of the order of mammals. And all because others simply cannot reach such long distances, and mice can cover vast spaces above the water surface without landing. The largest populations of bats live in the tropics, in the Amazon and Congo basins. There the number of their varieties reaches several hundred, and total the most numerous on the planet . But in the taiga northern zones species diversity is represented by only two or three families. On huge Russian territories There are about 40 species of bats. The middle zone is inhabited by approximately 50-100 individuals per 1 km2, but in Central Asia

this figure has already increased to 1000.

The House of the Bat - what is it like? Considering that the bat animal leads an active life at dusk or in the darkness of night, it is logical to assume that during the day it needs to hide from prying eyes and sun rays . The home that a winged creature chooses for itself depends on the structure of its limbs and overall size animal For the secluded relaxing holiday

Some tropical representatives build themselves something like umbrella-shaped huts from the large foliage of jungle plants, gnaw cozy niche houses in the fruits of palm trees, and use the voids formed between bamboo stem nodes.

Human activity is constantly destroying natural conditions, and the natural habitats of the flying beauty are becoming less and less. Some animal species are already on the verge of extinction. It’s good that the adaptability of bats is quite high level, and they learn to adapt to a new habitat, close to a human neighbor, to look for suitable shelters, at least somehow reminiscent of their favorite caves, holes, crevices.

For example, in Egypt, bats have become perfectly at home in the labyrinths inside great buildings, in abandoned mines they have taken a liking to waste adits, and even within the boundaries of cities and villages they inhabit cellars, attics, woodpiles, spaces behind shutters and platbands, and haystacks. Many farmers themselves, in order to attract pest hunters, hang houses made from planks on trees. Such a dwelling should be at a height of no lower than 3 m from the ground and with a narrow lower entrance-slot (a sort of prototype of a mailbox).

Photos

Unique adaptability to the external environment

Nature has given the bat truly amazing opportunities for survival. Thus, the animal is able to withstand temperature without loss of health environment, equal to both +40C and 0C.

The diet of mice is also adapted to the conditions in which the animal lives. Tropical residents have the greatest variety of taste preferences. There are also absolute “vegetarians”, whose menu consists of flower nectar, fruit pulp, and there are also outright predators who prefer the blood of other mammals for dinner. And yet, the overwhelming majority of winged mice are insectivores, in extreme cases allowing themselves small frogs or birds.

IN middle lane Colonies of bats hunt flying pests on a large scale. The animal destroys about 1000 mosquitoes alone per night. Plus an innumerable number of field, garden, and garden harmful insects.

An interesting experiment was carried out in the United States: one part of a corn field was covered with a net, and the other was left for free access of bats. So, it turned out that the place where the animals did not have the opportunity to hunt insects suffered from pests half as much as the open part of the field.

This clearly proves that the benefits of winged animals are very significant, given that they do not harm the crops in any way.

As soon as the warm season ends and the amount of food decreases sharply, flying families start preparing for hibernation . It is important for them that the temperature in the shelter does not fall below 0C while they are in suspended animation for several long months. With the advent of the first spring insects winged watch is back in action.

The message about bats can be used in preparation for the lesson. A report about bats for children can be supplemented with interesting facts.

A story about bats for children

A bat is a mammal that belongs to the order Chiroptera. Chiropterans are the only mammals on Earth that can fly.

Description of the bat

Bats are small animals, ranging from 4 to 16 cm in length.

In terms of size and structure of the head and body, the bat is similar to an ordinary mouse, but it also has many features. The animal's nose is blunt, flat with very noticeable nostrils. The eyes are small. The ears are large. Bat wings without feathers. This is a thin, translucent membrane. The tiniest bumblebee bat lives in Thailand and has a wingspan of 160 mm; its body length is about 33 mm, and its weight is about 2 g. The largest bat lives in Malaysia; it has a wingspan of 170 cm.
These animals have another original organ: nature has endowed them with an ultrasonic echo sounder. Probably as compensation for poor eyesight: both daytime and nighttime.

Where do bats live?

Bats are distributed throughout the world, except 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 the day they sleep, either hanging upside down, or huddled in cracks in trees, rocks, or crevices in buildings.

What do bats eat?

Most feed on insects, but large bats (for example, the giant noctule) can feed on birds, lizards, frogs, a few on fish; bats are known to hunt other species of chiroptera. IN South America There are three species of bats (vampires) that feed on the blood of vertebrates - birds and mammals. Some species are vegetarians: they feed, like fruit bats, on fruits, berries, nectar, pollen, and nuts (for example, leaf beetles).

An insectivorous bat can eat up to 200 mosquitoes in an hour of hunting.

Bats are not only completely harmless, but also useful animals, because they destroy many harmful insects. Plants that are pollinated by bats, whose diet consists of flower nectar and pollen, also benefit.

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

Many people don't know whether a bat is a bird or an animal. Chiropterans have wings and can fly, but bats are representatives of the animal world. This mouse is the only animal on the planet that moves through the air using wings. Central America became their birthplace. These animals do not tolerate cold well, so they prefer the mild climate of Asia or the territory of the Primorsky Territory. The animal belongs to the order of placental mammals, the species Chiroptera. Let's look at 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 bat's coat is thick and soft. It is usually gray, black or brown in color. There are animals with a yellowish or orange color. Such a bright fur color is characteristic of the Mexican fish-eating mouse.

The Honduran bat has white fur and yellow nose and ears. There is no fur on the wings. The muzzle resembles a pig's snout with mouse-like elements. There are individuals whose bodies have no fur coat at all. There are such representatives in the Philippines and South-East Asia.

It varies among bats internal structure skull and teeth. The long-tongued leaf-nosed bat has long tongue, with which he collects nectar. The elongated shape of the head is needed to accommodate the tongue.

In bats, 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.

Number of teeth different types bats are different. For example, vampires have only 20 of them, while small mice can have up to 38. Vampires have sharp fangs to make bites that draw blood. Fruit-eating bats have teeth similar to the main part of a flower, involved in the formation of the fruit.

Most representatives have a horn on their nose, reminiscent of a rhinoceros nose, and on their heads are located big ears, similar to hare. The auditory organ improves the mammal's echo sounding. The bat skeleton has several features. Forelegs unusual shape, one finger of which has a curved shape with a sharp end. The “hands” start from the hind limbs, reach the forearm and become elongated fingers. It turns out to be a kind of frame, covered with a dense membrane of skin.

The membrane serves as a wing for its owner. 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 variety of mice, the Brazilian folded lip reaches the highest speed of up to 160 km/h. The membrane is greatly stretched, approximately 4 times, without being damaged. During flight, the bat makes synchronous movements with its wings, pressing them tightly towards itself, thereby improving aerodynamics.

These mammals have very flexible wings, which allows them to turn 180 degrees without making a turn. A 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 tragus on their ears, which improves and enhances the perception of sounds. False horseshoe bats can detect the rustling of insects under grass or among foliage. Images for them appear in black and white. Echolocation helps them navigate in the dark. Ultrasonic impulses save you from collisions with possible obstacles. However, bats are not completely blind; some see well and can catch prey using their eyes.

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

Lifestyle of bats

Mice prefer to live in large populations, sometimes reaching more than a thousand individuals. True, there are animals that prefer to live alone. The Brazilian folded lip colony numbers more than 20 million individuals.

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

They sleep hanging upside down and curled up in their membranous wings. The bat is a nocturnal or crepuscular animal. Chiropterans climb rocks well. During the flight, bats always emit a high-pitched squeak, the characteristic of which is comparable to the sound jet engine airplane. The person doesn't hear him. Such ultrasonic waves are unbearable for human perception. Winter time the mammal spends time in hibernation, and sometimes they fly away 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 areas and lands covered with ice. The animal easily adapts to natural conditions, so it can live almost anywhere.

Chiropterans love places where there is no daylight. Mammals live in caves, basements, abandoned places, and tree hollows. There are amazing individuals that wrap themselves in banana leaves. Other representatives may live under bird nests, in bamboo stems, or even in spider webs.

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

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

How do they reproduce?

Individuals living in warm climatic zones, can reproduce twice a year.

In temperate latitudes, animals give birth to cubs once a year. Fertilization usually occurs in autumn time years before hibernation. Sperm do not immediately fertilize the egg and may remain in reserve until the female awakens. Some males make special sounds to attract a female. It is impossible to describe exactly how bats court and mate due to the secretive nature of bats.

After awakening, the gestation period begins, which lasts depending on the temperature and the species. In cold climates, the baby takes longer to develop. Females give birth to one cub, less often two or three. During childbirth, the female turns head up. The birth of the calf occurs feet first, then it enters the tail pouch, where it spends a week. The babies are hidden in a shelter and fed milk.

This whole process provided the answer to whether a 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 a shelter. Before reaching the age of one month, babies are very weak and cannot hunt. Then they begin to catch prey near their shelter. Possessing a unique sense of smell, the female can easily find the cub after a hunt. Even being several kilometers away, the female can smell the baby.

Enemies of bats

Mammals do not have many enemies in nature. Probably due to their 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.

Evening birds that fly out at dusk become prey to daytime birds. birds of prey: Peregrine Falcons, Hawks or Hobbies. Owls and owls love to hunt bats, but catching them is difficult. Chiropterans are saved by developed echolocation.

In the cave massifs of Hungary, the animal is attacked by tits. They fly in at the moment of sleep and take the sleeping animal to their nest. It’s true that tits are afraid large groups mammal due to mortal danger.

Chiropterans sleeping on tree branches often become prey for tree snakes. The bat lacks adaptation to daytime life, so even echolocation does not help.

The mammal often falls into the clutches of spiders. In the dark, they cannot see the web, and echolocation does not help. Some large spiders they do not specifically kill the insect, luring larger prey, such as a bat.

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

People are afraid of bats, so entire colonies of these animals are destroyed. It is important that this mammal provides 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 benefits do bats bring?

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

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

Animal droppings are considered good fertilizer. It is known that in caves one can find layers of excrement reaching up to a meter.

Bat saliva is used for medicinal purposes.

House bat

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

Bat loves night look life. During the day, the little animal prefers to sleep.

Pet house

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

A birdcage may not be suitable, since a chiropteran animal 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 feed yourself, so it is necessary to provide the mammal with a correct and complete diet.

mealworms;
milk formulas for children up to one month;
insect pupae;
raw egg yolk;
adult beetles;

For nutrition, we prepare a 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.

A 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. Chiropteran mammals are no exception. They have an unusual appearance and useful for humans.

Many people are afraid of bats. Probably because they know little about them. These are the only representatives of mammals that can fly. Today on our website there are bats and Interesting Facts about them.

Flying chiropteran mammals

On our planet, 25% of all animals, one way or another, can fly. There are animals such as flying mice. These unusual animals are divided into 985 species, which is 23% of all mammal species on the planet.

Unfortunately, many species of these animals are disappearing and simply becoming extinct. They appeared on the planet about 65 million years ago and are considered one of the most ancient. Over time, bats developed special membranes, thanks to which wings appeared.

If we talk about their characteristics, their body length is 4 centimeters, they weigh up to 900 grams and have a wingspan of up to 150 centimeters.

Chiropteran habitats

These animals, which amaze with their unusual and terrifying appearance, live throughout the planet except the Arctic and Antarctica.

Horseshoe bats

This type is considered the most common. It can be found in many European countries, where present temperate climate. There are about 50 species here.

Nightwomen

These bats are also quite common and have about 70 species. Among the many species, only one species spreads beyond the Arctic Circle.

Noctule - because it flies exclusively at night

When and how did bats begin to fly?

Thanks to a change in one gene, bats gained the ability to fly. Due to the growth of their fingers, wings appeared. It is known that they first took to the air many millions of years ago.

What is the smallest bat?

The hog-nosed bat lives primarily in Thailand. It is only 3 centimeters long and weighs 2 grams.

The biggest bat

South American large false vampire, it is also called the Australian magaderma. It is considered the largest bat and has the following characteristics: weight 100 grams, wingspan 50 centimeters. Lives mainly in Europe. The false vampire weighs about 200 grams and has a body length of 135 centimeters. The wingspan of this mouse is up to 1.8 meters.

Naked mice

Bats having this unusual name consist of 2 types. They live in Southeast Asia and the Philippines. They are completely hairless. The largest representative of this breed is the flying fox or Javan kalong, which weighs about 1 kilogram, has a body length of 40 centimeters and a wingspan of 1.5 meters.

The smelliest bats ever recorded

Malayan hairless bulldog bats have set a unique record for unpleasant smell. Their pungent stench is reminiscent of the smell of a person who has not washed for a long time. This species has no color vision. Divided into subspecies:

Yellow-winged false vampire
African mouse eptesicus
Case-tailed bats

So, the most interesting thing about bats

Today, bats are highly diverse and make up about 20% of all living mammals.
It has been noticed that when a bat flies out of a cave, it always flies to the left.
There are only two species of mammals on the planet that use echolocation. This is a bat too.

Listen to the voice of the bat

Another interesting fact is that a bat is able to distinguish an oak from a pine.
They produce their piercing cry using the larynx.
The flight speed of these animals is about 50 kilometers per hour.
As a rule, they hunt at night, but there is a species that is active during the day. It's called the yellow-winged false vampire.
They have the ability to run on the ground.
It has also been noted that they are not afraid of water and can eat about 700 mosquitoes in an hour.
They feed on various insects and these mice can even eat a scorpion.
They have very small teeth because they swallow their prey completely without chewing it.
Another interesting fact is that if they do not receive a portion of blood within two days, they die. Therefore, there are numerous cases when they attack a sleeping person and bite him on the head, neck or leg.
They also hunt sleeping animals.
There is a known case in which 11 children from Peru were bitten by bats. After which they developed rabies and died.
One bat can drink a whole plate of blood in 20 minutes.
They live in flocks and fly south.
Have quite longer duration life until about 18 years of age.
In some countries they are used as food.
Capable of concentrating a large dose of radiation. Such a case was identified near Lake Alakul in the Chelyabinsk region.
In most cases, bat bites are not fatal, but very painful.