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Contrary to popular belief, bats are not blind and they do not try
to become tangled in hair.
Bats are not related to rodents. In fact, bats belong to a group of their own, called
chiroptera, which means "hand-wing"!
Bats are the only flying mammals in the world. (Flying squirrels do not fly, they glide!)
Of the world's 900+ species, only three species are vampire bats, limited to Latin America.
Vampire bats do not like the taste of human blood. They are very small and generally drink the blood of animals and
poultry. Seventy percent of all bat species eat insects, most of the remaining 30% eat fruit, pollen and nectar.
Less than one-half of one percent of bats contract rabies. However, a grounded bat
should never be handled because it may bite in self-defense. Call a wildlife rehabilitator or an animal organization for help.
Bats are vital to the ecosystem! Fruit bats bring us over 450 commercial products,
including 80 medicines. The seed dispersal and pollination activities of fruit and nectar eating bats are vital to the survival
of rain forests. Seeds dropped by tropical bats account for up to 95% of forest re-growth on cleared land. Night blooming
plants and trees depend on nectar eating bats for pollination. An excellent example is the baobab tree of eastern Africa that
is so important to the survival of other kinds of wildlife it is referred to as the "Tree of Life." Bats in the US eat
millions of tons of insects annually. Alarmingly, bats are disappearing worldwide. They are now considered the most endangered
land mammal in North America
Bats are the most successful predators of night flying insects. A
single bat can eat up to 3,000 insects in one night and an average size colony can eat up to a half million insects
every night!
Bats can eat almost their full body weight in insects! Comparatively a grown human adult would
have to eat around 160 pounds of French fries or roughly 50 pizzas in a night!
Unfortunately, bats are persecuted because of their presence in man made structures. In Florida,
bats commonly roost under tiles of Spanish style tile roofs, inside concrete block walls, inside chimneys, behind fascia boards
and in expansion joints of concrete structures like bridges and stadiums.
Like dolphins, most bats are extremely intelligent. Some bats have a highly complicated social
structure that includes over 20 different vocalizations.
Maternity Season: Bats are harmless, under-appreciated eaters of millions of mosquitoes.
From May until September is the Bat Maternity season, any attempts to remove or exclude them from places where they are living
will result in death for the babies who rely on their mother's milk for life. When excluded or removed, the mothers cannot
feed their young, resulting in the cruelest form of death by starvation. We need our bats, each bat can eat up to 3,000 mosquitoes
and other flying insects each night. Killing bats will only result in more mosquitoes and bugs. So, please help us protect
our much needed Florida Bats.
Bat fossils have been found that date back approximately 50 million years. Surprisingly,
the bats of that ancient period very closely resembled those we know today.
Bats
are such unique mammals that scientists have placed them in a group of their own, the Chiroptera, which means hand-wing.
Bats are of the grand order, Archonta, grouped together with monkeys and flying lemurs.
Bats amount to approximately a quarter of all mammal species. They are found everywhere
in the world except in the most extreme desert and polar regions.
Most bats navigate with high-frequency sounds. Using sound alone, they can detect obstacles
as fine as a human hair in total darkness. The sophistication of their unique echolocation system surpasses current scientific
knowledge!
Bats carefully groom themselves. Bats are among the cleanest of animals and are also
exceptionally resistant to disease.
Bats, for their size, are the slowest reproducing mammals on earth. On average
mother bats rear only one young per year. Some do not give birth until they are two or more years old. Like humans, bats give
birth to poorly developed young and nurse them from a pair of pectoral breasts. Mother bats have been known to adopt each
other's young.
Bats are exceptionally long-lived, some species can live up to 34 years!
Studies
of bats have contributed to the development of navigational aids for the blind, birth control and artificial insemination
techniques, vaccine production and drug testing, and a better understanding of low-temperature surgical procedures.
Bats
are depicted as heroes in other parts of the world. In China they are held in high esteem as omens of good luck and happiness.
In Scotland, the real estate value goes up when a home or castle is found to house a colony of bats! Native American Indians
considered the bat a protector. Bats are often drawn on the corners of Native American sand paintings to guard the painting. | 
