14 Fascinating Facts About Bats and Our Recent Encounter with Them!

Having recently moved from a big city to the country, we have had our fill of experiences you just don't have when you live in the city. Let me explain.

The other day, we were cutting our lawn in the backyard. Our yard is relatively large, and filled with wonderful foliage including bushes and mature trees.

Two of us were pulling weeds and grass around our above ground pool, while my sister was mowing the lawn. After finishing wedding, we went to take a break on our deck. It was quite windy, and we happened to notice what we thought were birds flying around, but not really getting anywhere. They just seemed to fly in circles, swooping here and there, and we thought it was because they were having trouble as a result of the wind.

It took us a moment to realize that the 'birds' we were watching were not birds at all, they were bats, and they seemed to be circling and dive-bombing my sister who was mowing the lawn! Because we have never experienced this phenomenon, it frightened us. We learned later on why they were doing this during the daylight hours.

A kindly neighbor informed us that the bats would not hurt us, and really weren't interested in us per say, but instead were swooping down to catch the insects that were coming out of the lawn as my sister cut it. This made sense, as the bats had no interest in us before or afterward, so our fears obviously were alleviated.

After this experience curiosity got the better of me, and I thought I would share the top 14 fascinating facts about bats.

• Scientists believe that bats first appeared 65-100 million years ago.

• There are over 1,100 bat species in the world, with the U.S. having 45 types including; the big brown bat, the little brown
bat and the Mexican free-tailed bat.

• The lifespan of a bat is on average 40 years.

• Over half of the bats in the U.S. are endangered due to loss of habitat and disease.

• Contrary to popular belief, bats are not blind and actually have very good vision.

• Because they have excellent echolocation, contrary to popular belief they will not get tangled in people's hair.

• 70% bats eat insects and can eat more than 600 bugs in one hour. The remaining 30% eat fruit and are called frugivores.

• There are only three species that are vampire bats. It is rare that a vampire bat will bite a human, but if they do bite a
human, they will seek out the same one. They can differentiate between humans based on the way an individual breathes!
Fortunately for Americans, vampire bats only live in zoos.

• Scientists have used the saliva from vampire bats to treat stroke and heart patients.

• Along with resting and sleeping upside down, they mate and give birth upside down as well.

• The world’s largest bat is the giant golden-crowned flying fox, a rare fruit bat which has a wingspan of 5 to 6 feet.

• The smallest bat known to man is called the bumblebee bat, also known as Kitti’s Hog-nosed Bat and lives in Thailand. It is
thought to be the world's smallest mammal. Unfortunately, because of loss of habitat, it is critically endangered.

• In Japan and China, bats are thought to be a symbol of happiness. In North America and Europe, they have been
associated with witchcraft.

• During the civil war, bat droppings were used to make gunpowder.

And there you have it, now you and I know more about bats than we did before. If you know of any other facts you'd like to share, please feel free to do so.