Blind As A Bat? 5 Interesting Bat Facts That Will Let You Look At Them Differently

Bats have this image of being the animal counterpart of vampires. They’re also portrayed as the companion of the famous DC superhero, Batman. But these cute little winged creatures are actually more than just their blood-sucking image. They’re not as dark and savage as you may think. They are pretty interesting since they’re the only mammals that can fly, and they also help in giving balance to nature by decreasing pesky insects and pests.

Bat facts

So with that, we’re here to shed some light on these misunderstood critters. We’ll be sharing with you some cool bat facts. Like we’ve mentioned, they give balance to nature, and this is the case with every creature. So it’s good to know more about them. You can even share these facts as trivia to your family and friends, just to make gatherings and reunions slightly more interesting. Read on to find out more!

How they eat

One of the coolest things about bats is that they can identify whether or not their prey is dangerous. Bats have ultrasonic hearing that lets them carefully listen to the sounds that their prey makes and they can differentiate from the sound, specifically for frogs which can be poisonous if they eat the wrong species. But around 70% of tropical bats eat insects as a big part of their diet. They also eat fruit and plant nectar along with the insects. Some bats also hunt for small invertebrates such as fish, mice, and small birds for food. And another cool thing is, when they eat, they do it upside-down!

They were featured a lot

They were featured in the original Dracula novel in 1897 by Bram Stoker. This novel gave bats the first association with vampires for their blood-sucking traits. During the 19th century, bats could get blood-drunk, so this inspired Stoker to use them in his novel. Bats were also in the 1940 black and white horror film, The Devil Bat. This film featured a bat as a fictional killer going on a rampage. In the film, a scientist was insulted by his employees and wanted revenge against them by using bats and mutating and enlarging them.

Their droppings and saliva

You might find this a bit odd, but bat droppings were actually once used to make gunpowder during the Civil War in America. Their droppings were harvested from caves during the 18th century to make gunpowder, and later on, they were mined to produce saltpeter. On the other hand, their saliva was also used to treat human stroke patients. Some scientists have discovered that bat saliva contains a prominent compound that can medically treat stroke in human patients. This prominent compound is known as DSPA and it can make the patient’s blood thinner to prevent and relieve clots.

Mama bats

Many bat mothers fly around with their babies clinging onto them. When the bat babies are only a few weeks old, their mother will have them cling onto them until they can finally fly on their own. They cling using their mother’s underarm nipple with their mouth or they hang to their mother’s waist using their toes. The mama bat reacts quickly and swoop down to catch any baby that falls. And that’s how quick their reactions are overall. 

Their eyes

Bats are actually not blind. They can see well with their extrasensory abilities. This allows them to distinguish other species and the environment that they’re in. But their eyes are extra sensitive to light when they hunt for their prey in the dark. Also, some species of female bats can control when they give birth. Most bats in the United States usually mate during the fall or winter seasons before they hibernate. The female bats will store the male’s sperm in their bodies. Once they ovulate, they can then control when the sperm reaches the egg.

Look at them differently

And there you have it! Those are five interesting bat facts. Bats are amazing and they are really more than just how they are portrayed in movies and fictional books. They keep pests and insects at bay, and they have a lot of cool capabilities that other mammals don’t have. With that, we should also do our part to just respect them. This means we should just leave them be because if they’re not really doing anything bad towards us, let’s just allow them to do their business. These creatures have a purpose just like anyone of us. We hope our article helps you in knowing a little more about these critters. You can share them with your friends and family for them to know about bats, too. It’s always nice to have knowledge of different things. Not only will you be more educated, but you can also make throw more topics into a bland conversation. It makes small talk a bit more interesting.