They’re one of a kind

Shout out to anyone or anything that’s unique. Bats are the only mammal that can fly. Sure, there are flying squirrels and sugar gliders, but they’re not actually flying, they’re gliding. Bats are the only ones that actually propel themselves for true flight

There’s a species of bat that eats scorpions

Pallid bats eat scorpions, which make up to 70% of their diet at certain times of the year their diet. They’re immune to the scorpion stings, even from the Arizona Bark Scorpion – the most venomous scorpion in North America. That’s pretty badass for a small, fuzzy creature!

They come in miniature

The Bumblebee Bat is barely the size of, you guessed it, a bumblebee and weighs about as much as two Skittles. Their real name is the Kitti’s Hog-nose Bat, but ‘bumblebee bat’ sounds much cuter. You’ll find them in Thailand and Myanmar, but we figure they’re probably pretty hard to spot.

They also come in XXL

With a wingspan of a whopping 6 feet, the Flying Fox is a pretty huge guy. They live on islands in the South Pacific and eat fruit. Unlike most bats, they have colour vision, which is probably pretty helpful when choosing the ripest, tastiest fruit to munch on

They fly fast

Bats can fly way faster than you might expect. Some species clock in at up to 60 miles an hour, with the Mexican speed-tailed bat making it to 100mph!

They’re super important for the planet

More than 500 plant species, including mangoes, bananas, and avocados, rely on bats for pollination. They spread seeds that keep rainforests healthy and growing, helping mitigate some of the effects of deforestation. And they eat so many insects that they’re a natural insecticide, helping reduce the need for pest-control chemicals. Insect-eating bats can eat their bodyweight in mosquitos every night, so just imagine what life would be like without them!

They all roost upside down

There are around 1400 species of bats worldwide, but the one thing they have in common is that iconic roosting pose. No one is 100% sure why, but scientists think it’s probably because bats have to fall into flight, they can’t just take off like a bird does. So, sleeping upside down means they can get straight into flying. 

They include the only vampiric mammal

Vampire bats have the distinction of being the only mammal that has an all-blood diet. They typically feed on cows and horses. Thanks to their small size and super-sharp teeth, they often go completely unnoticed by the animal they’re feeding from, and they don’t take enough blood to cause any harm – although the bites can sometimes get infected.

They have valuable poop

Bat guano is an exceptionally good fertiliser thanks to a high nitrogen, phosphate and potassium content – all of which are essential for plant growth. In Texas, where the world’s largest colony of bats lives, the guano trade was once even bigger than the oil trade. Interestingly, guano was also used in the production of gunpowder for a time. Now that we can extract nitrogen from the air, guano is less sought after than it used to be.

They have bellybuttons

To be fair, almost all mammals have them, but it’s just funny to think of bats having bellybuttons, right?!