Bats Are Quite Interesting

Today's society has put bats to be affiliated with vampires. Well, determining if vampires are real or not is questioned; however, bats are quite real. They are very interesting animals. Here are some interesting facts that you may not have known about bats.

1. Bats can live more than 30 years.

2. They fly at speeds up to 60 mph. Wow, that's as fast as most speed limits.

3. Bats have bad vision since their eyes are small and poorly developed. These smart animals locate their food by sending out an inaudible high pitched sound which is 10-20 beeps per second, then they listen to the echoes.

4. Bats can eat up to 1,200 mosquitoes in an hour. Some bats play an important role as pollinators by eating fruit or nectar. There are a species of "vampire bats" which live off the blood of animals; however, none of these bats live in the U.S.

5. Half of bats species in the U.S. are listed as an endangered.

6. Some species of bats fly south for the winter while others hibernate. They can survive freezing temperatures even being surrounded in ice.

7. Bats guano (feces) was Texas's largest mineral export before oil. It is one of the richest fertilizers.

8. The "flying fox" is the world's largest bat. The wingspan of these bats species is up to 6ft.

9. Asia and the Pacific Rim used these animals as food.

10. Rabies can be spread readily with these animals because they are highly mobile, social, and long lived.