Facts About Flying Bats

Flying bats are alerted of danger through their sonar system and are able to avoid deadly collisions.

Man has studied the bat's unique system for detecting objects when flying. This has enabled man to develop their own sensitive detection instruments.

However, with all of man's sophisticated engineering, the instruments lack the bats precision
 
 
 

Yes, bats can and really do fly with their fingers. A double membrane of skin is spread along a bats arms and between each of their fingers. Because of this construction their wings are easily manipulated.

A bat can move any part of their wing at anytime or the whole wing. Aided by the ability to manipulate their wings a bat can make right angles in very small spaces only slightly larger than their body.
 
 
 
 

The primary purpose of a bat's feet is to use them in hanging from some sort of support. There are tendons in the bat's feet that prevent the toes from straightening out when extending the legs. The toes have such a strong grip that a bat could die and still be hanging and not lose its grip.

A bat can use its feet for walking, but it is a slow and clumsy process. Their knees bend backward and the large wings are awkward on the ground. One of the side fingers, at the top of the wing, has a sharp claw.

The sharp claw is hook like and this is what is used for walking. The hooked claw grabs the ground surface and pulls itself along. The bat alternates from one claw on the right to the other claw on the left.

The bat mostly eats insects that are flying around at night. To catch insects the bat will use both its mouth and the pouch like membrane between their hind legs. The pouch is used as a net to scoop up insects while the bat is flying through the air.

When the insect is small, the bat will grab it in its mouth and eat while in flight. If the insect is too large it will be carried in the pouch and to a perch where the bat can eat it.

The bat will first bite off the wings, toss them, then eat the rest of the insect while it is in the pouch. The bat is very good at catching insects and can eat as much as a third of its body weight.

The bat sends ultra sonic sound waves to detect objects in the area. When waves come in contact with an object, they bounce back as an echo. This echo contains a message that the bat will use to determine its action toward the object.

After sending the sound wave the bat is able to close its ears through muscle contraction. When the bat receives a reply to its first signal, as an echo, the ears open again to receive the message. This all happens very quickly at the rate of 50-60 sounds per second.
 
 
 

The bat is usually successful in capturing insects for its food. But, there is a species of moths that have learned how to avoid being caught.

As the bat is flying it makes a beeping sound which is the bat's sonar system at work. The bat can detect its target at a distance of 3 to 6 feet.

When the Antherea Polyphemus Moth hears this sound it flies wildly in loops and quickly changes its flight pattern. This is all done in the hope that it will confuse the bat's detection system. If this doesn't work the moth will fold its wings and drop to the ground, motionless.

Another misconception that you may have heard is that bats fly into women's hair. This is completely false. The bat is only interested in the bugs that are flying around the women's hair. A bat will seldom, if ever, touch a women's hair.

The bat is really performing a service by reducing the bug population this woman has gathered.

Another popular belief is that bats are blind, this is also false. The bat does have very small eyes with limited vision, but they are not blind.
 
 

The bat's hair is considered to be the finest of any animal. It also has the greatest number of hair per surface skin area.

The hair on a bat does not change with the season and there doesn't seem to be a difference in coloring or size with the sexes.

The bat emits a musky odor, like many other animals, and leaves a very oily grease spot where it hangs. A large bat colony can produce a huge amount of guano or waste. These two facts could be reasons why the bat is considered a dirty animal.

But, these very droppings, guano, are important and have been very useful to man. During the time of the American Civil War this guano was used to produce gunpowder. Guano is rich in nutrients and makes excellent fertilizer.
 
 
 
 

A Vampire Bat may bite a man, but that is rather rare. They normally don't bother humans. Cattle seem to be their prime victim and feed on them regularly.

A bat will land on its victim and lick the area it plans to bite. The saliva from the bate contains enzymes that are anti coagulant. This will allow the blood to flow smoothly.

The Vampire Bat has the most specialized teeth of any of the bat family. There are 2 upper incisor teeth and 4 lower incisor teeth. The Vampire Bat also has 10 check teeth and the purpose of these are not clearly understood.

The teeth are pointed and sharp. The incisors are used to bite the victim. The bite is considered superficial, but it is deep enough to produce much bleeding.

Once the incision is made, the bat extends its tongue while curling the edges to form a tube. Muscles on the tongue rapidly contract causing the blood to flow into the bats mouth.

They say the Vampire Bat is very timid. If the victim moves or reacts to the bite the bat will quickly leave.

The photo is not a real Vampire Bat. It is a prop, but does look like a Vampire Bat except for the teeth. A real Vampire Bat has pointed teeth and some of them are long.

Science is still studying the characteristics of the bat with the intention of unlocking more secrets of the bat.

Through examination it was found that a 20 year old arterial system was the same as a 1 year old arterial system. Science hopes to discover this secret to control a major aging problem.

Bats are able to control their own gestation period. They store the seed and decide when the gestation period will begin.

Studies have shown that bats have a high resistance to radiation. They are more than 300 times more resistance than rats. Science believes discovering this secret would protect man against the effects of radiation.