Bat Facts

Bats are flying mammals.

While others can glide, bats are the only mammals capable of continued flight.

There are over 1000 different bat species.

Bats are nocturnal (active at night).

Bats ‘see’ in the dark using a special skill called echolocation. Bats make noises and wait for the sound waves to bounce back off objects (an echo), if it doesn’t bounce back then they can safely fly forward. They can tell the distance of various objects by how quickly the sound waves bounce back to them.

Most bats feed on insects, while others eat fruit, fish or even blood!

There are 3 species of vampire bats which feed solely on blood.

Vampire bats have small and extremely sharp teeth which are capable of piercing an animal’s skin (humans included) without them even noticing.

Vampire bats can carry rabies, making their bites potentially dangerous.

Some bats live by themselves while others live in caves with thousands of other bats.

Bats can live for over 20 years.

Pteropus bats (also known as flying foxes or fruit bats) are the largest in the world.