Bats are mighty incredible creatures found around the world who play vital roles in ecosystems. But, as animals who can carry and pass on disease, they are often maligned and feared, played up as impish creatures by popular and mainstream media.
Bat Conservation International declared April 17 to be International Bat Day – and we love them! Here’s a few fascinating facts and things to know about bats. Consider using them for your next family digital trivia night (and let us know if your whole family goes batty for them (get it?)).
- Bats support cave ecosystems which are home to massive amounts of diversity, like insects, fish, amphibians, mammals.
- Their poop is rich in nitrogen which helps the ecosystems as well as fertilizing gardens.
- They distribute material and nutrients, therefore great recyclers!
- Bats are pollinators, again helping ecosystems and gardens.
- Fruit eating bats distribute seeds via poop.
- Bats play a role in insect control, so much so farmers save in the costs of using toxic pesticides. They eat literally tons of insects nightly which not only help farmers but also help your garden. They eat mosquitos that help control the spread of virus’ that mosquitos can carry which benefit humans.
- Predators prey on them for their food.
More Fun facts:
- Bats are not blind, they just use echolocation to locate things in their surroundings. Bats can make a call 160 times per SECOND to locate their prey.
- Bats are the 2ndlargest group of mammals in the world. There are over 1300 species of bats.
- Bats are not only mammals, but the only mammal that can fly.
- Bats are not high carriers of rabies. Any mammal can carry rabies.
- Bats are more closely related to humans than rodents as people think.
Do you love bats as much as we do? Let us know in the comments on our social media pages!
