BAT

Range:

Worldwide, except for extreme arctic and desert regions

Habitat:

Varied and highly diverse, but most bats live in tropical forests

Bats are myth-understood!

There may be more myths about bats than any other animal. Some people think bats are blind bloodsuckers that fly into your hair and carry rabies

. In fact, these flying mammals are extremely useful to humans and are gentle, intelligent creatures.

Bats are divided into two major groups. Megachiroptera or mega bats are medium- to large-size bats. Many eat fruit, pollen, or nectar; some eat small land animals, and some eat fish. They have big eyes and excellent eyesight.

The other major group is Microchiroptera or micro bats, which are smaller bats that eat mostly insects. They use echolocation, detecting sound waves to navigate and identify the flying insects they eat. Included in this group is the smallest bat, the Kitti’s hog-nosed bat, which weighs less than a penny.