26 Bat Facts For Kids

1. Bat is the common name for a large group of flying mammals in the Chiroptera order.
2. Bats can be found on every continent, with the exception Antarctica, and places that are too remote or too cold for them to live.
3. Bats are the only mammals capable of sustaining continuous flight, other mammals that appear to fly simply glide.
4. Bat diets vary by species, including frugivores (fruit-eaters), hematophagous (blood-eaters), insectivores (insect-eaters) and nectarivores (nectar-eaters).
5. Paleontologists have discovered fossil evidence showing bats first appeared around 48 million years ago.
6. Bat social structure varies by species, some bats are solitary (live alone), while others live in colonies with more than a million members.
7. The largest colony of bats in the world contains 20 million Mexican free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis) in Comal County, Texas.
8. Bats can have a wingspan as short as 1.1 inches (Kitti's hog-nosed bat) or reach a wingspan of more than 5 feet (giant golden-crowned flying fox).
9. The average life span of some bat species can exceed 30 years.
10. The fastest flying bat species is the Mexican free-tailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis) at around 100 miles per hour.
11. Most bat species are nocturnal and only come out at night, but some bat species are diurnal and come out during the day.
12. There more than 1,400 species of bats and they make up about 20% of all known mammal species worldwide.
13. The smallest bat species is the Kitti's hog-nosed bat (Craseonycteris thonglongyai) and potentially the world’s smallest mammal.
14. The largest bat species is the giant golden-crowned flying fox (Acerodon jubatus) with a maximum wingspan of almost 6 feet.
15. Bat species are traditionally divided into two groups, megabats and microbats.
16. An example of a bat species that is a microbat is the Spix’s disk-winged bat (Thyroptera tricolor).
17. An example of a bat species that is a megabat is the straw-coloured fruit bat (Eidolon helvum).
18. The vast majority of discovered and described bat species are in the microbat group.
19. The megabat group contains the largest species of bats, both weight and wingspan.
20. Depending on the bat species, some will hibernate during the winter months, while others migrate to warmer climates.
21. Some bat species play an important role in pollinating certain fruit plants, such as avocados, bananas, and mangoes.
22. Some bat species can eat more than 1,000 mosquitoes per hour, helping to prevent the spread of mosquito-borne diseases.
23. People put up bat houses to attract bats and they can be beneficial in reducing pest populations. Some estimates claim bats provide farmers up to $53 billion a year in savings in crop damage and pesticide usage.
24. Bat poop, also known as guano, is a commonly collected and used as fertilizer. Guano is known for its high quantity of key nutrients for plant growth.
25. A common myth is most bats drink blood, however out of the 1,400+ bat species only three are known to consume blood. The three bat species that consume blood (vampire bats) are the common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus), the hairy-legged vampire bat (Diphylla ecaudata), and the white-winged vampire bat (Diaemus youngi).
26. Virologists believe certain species of bats may be the natural reservoir for Ebola hemorrhagic fever.

Bat Pictures

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then the below images will be helpful for your research on bats. Below are six pictures of various bat species. These pictures should help you better understand the different types of bats found around the world.

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