The little brown bat lives up to its name. Not all bats hibernate. Even though bears and bats are the two most well-known hibernators, not all bats spend their winter in caves.
Some bat species like the spotted bat survive by migrating in search of food to warmer areas when it gets chilly. The Northern long-eared bat spends winter hibernating in caves and mines. Bats have few natural predators — disease is one of the biggest threats. The disease — named for a white fungus on the muzzle and wings of bats — affects hibernating bats and has been detected in 37 states and seven Canadian provinces.
This deadly syndrome has decimated certain species more than others. Scientists are working to understand the disease. You can help by avoiding places where bats are hibernating. If you do go underground, decontaminate your clothing, footwear and gear to help with not spreading this disease to other areas.
A tri-colored bat shows symptoms of white-nose syndrome. Photo by National Park Service. Without bats, say goodbye to bananas, avocados and mangoes. Over species of fruit depend on bats for pollination. Bats help spread seeds for nuts, figs and cacao — the main ingredient in chocolate. Just like a hummingbird, the lesser long-nosed bat can hover at flowers, using its 3-inch-long tongue — equal to its body length — to feed on nectar in desert environments.
Photo by Merlin D. Tuttle, Bat Conservation International. Night insects have the most to fear from bats. Each night, bats can eat their body weight in insects, numbering in the thousands! This insect-heavy diet helps foresters and farmers protect their crops from pests.
The endangered Indiana bat, which weighs about three pennies, consumes up to half its bulk every evening. Bats are the only flying mammal. The main difference between the megabats and the microbats is the size of the bats. Most megabat species are larger in comparison to microbat species, with some exceptions. Megabats primarily feed on fruits and are less specialized.
Flying Foxes are the largest of all bat species with wings that span about five to six feet and weighing up to 2. Microbats, on the other hand, are highly specialized and are echolocating. The smallest of the bats is the Kittis hog-nosed bat, weighing about Bats are the only mammals that are able to maintain a sustained flight. The rest of the bat population mainly feeds on fruits. Few of the bat population feed on animals. As the world reckons with the need to reduce carbon emissions and invest in renewable energy sources, there is rapid growth of wind energy facilities around the world to support transitions to cleaner power in our global fight against climate change.
Unfortunately, wind turbines pose risk to some bat species that are vulnerable to colliding with turbine blades. Scientists estimate that hundreds of thousands of bats are killed each year in the United States alone. Migratory bats appear most vulnerable and comprise most bat causalities identified under wind turbines.
As wind energy development expands to fight climate change, the impact on bat populations from increasing build-out could be devastating unless solutions to minimize bat fatalities are implemented. Bat Conservation International has been a leader in working with the wind energy industry to develop solutions to support wind energy and sustain bat biodiversity. Solutions such as changing the speeds at which turbine blades are allowed to start spinning can reduce bat fatalities by nearly half, which can help sustain bat populations and the ecosystems services they provide.
Do you enjoy tequila? Without bats, we might not have any. Tequila is produced from the agave plant, which relies primarily on bats to pollinate its flowers and reproduce.
So next time you order a tequila, be sure to raise your glass to the pollinating bats that helped to make it possible! Bats are famous for their ability to navigate and hunt by listening to the echoes of their ultrasonic calls, known as echolocation. Eating insects is the most common diet among bats worldwide — a major benefit for our farmers. However, the role many of nectar-feeding bats play is just as important. Bats, like the Northern Blossom Bat Macroglossus minimus from Australia, pollinate the flowers of plants that produce nectar.
Scientists believe that many plants have evolved to attract bats, as they can carry significant amounts of pollen in their fur.
And African Heart-nosed Bats can hear the footsteps of a beetle walking on sand from more than six feet away! Only three bat species vampires feed on blood, and only one targets mammals.
Limited to Latin America, scientists have discovered a potent anticoagulant in vampire bat saliva, which the bats use to keep blood from clotting, that has been developed into a medication to help prevent strokes in humans. Simply left alone, bats are harmless and highly beneficial. They are fascinating creatures, vital to the balance of nature around the world. Like most wild animals, bats prefer to avoid contact with humans. But in situations where bats and humans come into close proximity, it is important to understand how to prevent negative outcomes for humans and bats.
In each of these situations, we discourage the general public from handling bats. See below for information about possible health risks that may apply. Research has revealed that more than 60 percent of emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic, meaning they can be communicable from animals to humans, and bats are not exceptional among wildlife as potential sources of human disease.
Over the last decade, increased surveillance and improved techniques for disease detection have implicated bats as likely reservoirs and vectors for a growing list of pathogens that can affect humans and domestic animals.
Rabies is a preventable viral infection of the central nervous system in mammals. Bats, like most mammals, can contract the rabies virus, but the vast majority never do. The virus is typically transmitted by the bite of an infected animal — anyone bitten by a bat or any other wild or unknown domestic animal should seek immediate medical attention.
People can, in rare instances, contract rabies if infectious material, such as saliva from a rabid animal, gets into their eyes, nose, mouth, or a wound. The U. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides information about Rabies here. Histoplasmosis is a respiratory disease caused by a fungus that grows in soil enriched by animal droppings, including those from bats. Ninety percent of all reported cases in humans come from the Ohio and Mississippi River valleys and adjacent areas where warm, humid conditions favor fungal growth.
The disease is rare or nonexistent in most of Canada and in the far northern and western United States. The majority of cases are asymptomatic or involve flu-like symptoms, though some individuals become seriously ill, especially if exposed to large quantities of spore-laden dust. To be safe, avoid breathing dust in areas where there are animal droppings; if you must clean an area of bat or bird droppings, wear a respirator that can guard against particles as small as two microns.
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