BATS

1. BY CHYENNE FRANCIS-WELLINGTON 6JB BATS

2. What bats eat? There are almost 1,000 species of bats that eat all types of food. The group of microbats mostly eat small flying night bugs like mosquitoes, moths and others. The megabats mostly eat ripe fruit found in the rainforests. There are other bats that eat strange food such as frogs, fish, scorpions, and plant nectar. It is amazing the different types of foods that bats eat. The picture at the left is a nectar eating bat feeding from a hummingbird feeder.

3. Where do bats live? Bats live in every continent in the world, except Antarctica. They prefer to live in climates that are warm. Most bats live in forests. They like to hang from trees in the forest. Some species of bats like living in dark places, such as caves and attics.

4. How do bats see in the dark? Have you ever heard the expression "˜blind as a bat'? It is far from true as almost all bats have reasonable eyesight. Have you ever been in a bat cave, or watched a documentary about bats and wondered how they could see in those pitch black caves? It was once thought that the bat relied mainly on its eyesight to see in the dark. One scientist though, by the name of Lazzaro Spallanzani discovered that a blinded bat could fly and capture prey, and a bat with earplugs couldn't. Later on, G.W.Pierce developed a sound detector that proved that bats do use sound to get around in the dark. But how do they use sound to get around? Well just as we rely on the sun for light to see, bats rely on sound waves to know where it is going. To see in the dark, bats produce sound pulses. The pulses made from the bat spread out like the light from a torch. When the pulse comes in contact with an object, then an echo bounces back to the bat. The bat uses high pitched sounds that most creatures can't hear. This means that the bat can catch its prey without being seen or heard. Even its predators find it hard to catch them. A bat's call may last from 1 to 100 thousandths of a second. Using calls of different pitches means the bat recognizes the order of which the echoes return. This means that the bat builds a mental picture of the surroundings in the bat's mind. The bat then listens for changes, like an insect moving around.

5. Why are bats endangered? There are several reasons why bats are endangered. Mainly it is because of a loss of their habitats. Rainforests are being destroyed. Also caves and nesting areas are being blocked and destroyed. This can also take away their food supply. It is important for a bat that is hybernating to not be disturbed throughout it's Winter sleep. This can cause them to lose energy and not make it through the Winter

6. How do bats fly? Putting bat wings on the mythical vampires makes them more efficient than suspected. Because a study using the last technology on high-resolution, three-dimensional video recordings offered for the first time details on how these amazing mammals fly, discovering unique abilities. The research showed that bats use a totally different lift-generating mechanism than birds and insects do, and their wings are much more maneuverable, being a candidate model for tiny flying machines. "They can generate different wing shapes and motions that other creatures can't", said Kenneth Breuer, a professor of engineering at Brown University. "The goal is not to build something that looks like a bat. We want to understand bat flight and be able to incorporate some of the features of bat flight into an engineered vehicle." said Breuer.

7. How to look after a bat? Put up a bat box or install a bat brick for easy access to your roof space; encourage bats’ food (night flying insects) by planting night scented flowers such as honeysuckle or evening primrose; tell English Nature if you think bat are roosting in your house; take advice from English Nature before treating your home with chemicals or using sprays in the garden.

8. Bat rabies? What should I do if I’m bitten by a bat? Immediately wash the wound well with soap and water Consult a physician Notify the local health unit What should I do if I see a bat outside? If a bat is wandering in daylight or crawling on the ground, it may be rabid, stay away. If you see bats outside, leave them alone. Bats are an important part of our natural environment.   What if I find a bat (dead or alive) in the house? Contact your local public health unit if you find a bat in your house. If the bat is dead, contact the local office of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency servicing Simcoe Muskoka at (705) 739-0008. Why does the bat need to be tested? Only testing can determine whether or not the bat is carrying rabies. When a physician does not know this information, they may recommend rabies post-exposure treatment in accordance with Ministry of Health and Long Term Care guidelines

9. How do bats communicate? Thousands of bats native to Central Texas fly overhead each night singing songs of complex syllables -- but at frequencies too high for humans to hear. Texas A&M researcher Michael Smotherman is trying to understand how Mexican Freetail bats organize syllables into songs and how their communication is linked to the brain. "If we can identify those areas in a bat brain [responsible for communication], we can learn more about how a normal [human] brain generates and orchestrates complex communication sequences," Smotherman says. "And by understanding how that works, we can then come up with testable hypotheses about what might be going on in speech disorders."