Depending on the species, bats can be gray, brown, white or reddish brown.

Bats have teeth and chew their food. Seventy percent of all bats eat insects. One bat can eat more than a thousand insects in one hour!

The largest bats have a wingspan of more than six feet. However, most are smaller.

Many people do not like bats and are afraid of them because they think all bats have rabies. Rabies is a virus that is transmitted to animals and people through animal bites. A study by the University of Florida has shown less than one-half of 1 percent of all bats have rabies. It is more likely for a person to be bitten by an unvaccinated dog or cat.

People also think vampire bats will try to attack humans. That is simply not true.

Bats are not a danger to people and are actually quite valuable. Very few carry rabies, and they help to control the insect population. They also help seed new plants and pollinate our crops!

Bats have excellent night vision. Fruit bats use their eyesight and sense of smell to find fruits and flowers. Bats that hunt insects, fish, or frogs can also "see" with sound. This is called echolocation. Bats that use echolocation usually have large ears and leaf-shaped flaps of skin on their noses. This helps them direct the high frequency sounds they make.

The wings act like webbed hands. The bat can move its wings like we move our fingers. Bats fold one of their wings to steer and brake.

Many bats can hover in one place like hummingbirds and helicopters.

Bats live in barns, attics, and caves. They like anyplace that is cold and dark. They usually live in small groups. But their colony size can be in the 1,000's.

Tropical bats can transfer pollen as they fly from plant to plant. They digest bananas, mangoes, guavas, and berries in 20 minutes. The seeds of the fruit are dropped by the bats as they are flying. This reseeds large areas of land.

There are people who think that bats are dirty and evil. Bats are very clean and groom their wings and teeth daily. Some even believe that Count Dracula turns into a bat. This is not true. Bats are very helpful to man and our environment.

The orientation of the hindlimb is also unique to bats. The hip joint is rotated 90° so that the legs project sideways and the knee faces almost backwards. Due in part to the rotation of the hindlimb, the walking motion of bats differs from other tetrapods, often appearing awkward. The hindlimb is designed to support the patagium in flight and allow the bat to roost hanging from its hindlimbs. Most bats have a tendon system in the toes that locks the claws in place so the bat can hang upside down even when asleep.

The body of a bat is ventrally compressed with a short neck region. The bones tend to be slender and light-weight. The majority of the body weight is concentrated in the chest region due to the large flight muscles.

The overall shape of the head varies more in bats than within most other groups of mammals. Some bats have very elongated muzzles while others have broad, short faces. There is a correlation between the shape of the head and the type of food eaten. For example, most nectar feeders have long, narrow muzzles that are good for reaching into flowers, while many fruit eaters have short, broad faces good for biting rounded fruits (Hill and Smith, 1984).

The ears range from small and round to large and pointed, and often have a cartilaginous fold (tragus) present at the notch of the ear. There is additional variation in the nasal and lip regions of bats. Some bats have complex noseleafs, folds, or wrinkles on their muzzles.

A major misconception about bats is that they are blind. This idea originated from the fact that bats are able to successfully maneuver in the dark and often have small eyes. While some bats do have very small eyes (most Microchiroptera) many have large and complex eyes (Megachiroptera).

Bats usually have black or brown fur, although the fur can also be gray, white, red, or orange. In some species there are stripes on the face or down the back, or patches of white on the face or above the shoulder. The length of the fur also varies among species from short and dense to long and fluffy. The wing membrane is usually dark in color, although it may have white on the tips or be a lighter color around the bones in the membrane. A few bats have white or pale yellow wings. There are also little hairs on the membrane itself. These hairs can be the color of the wing or the same color as the body.

The bat monophyly hypothesis states the Megachiroptera and Microchiroptera are each others closest relatives in an evolutionary sense (i.e., they form a clade).

Bats are not ugly or dirty. Most bats have very cute faces, some even resemble deer, rabbits, and little Chihuahuas. Like cats, bats spend an enormous amount of time grooming their fur, keeping it soft and silky.

Not all bats are vampires.  Of the world’s 1100+ species, only three are vampire bats limited mostly to Latin America. Vampire bats are very small (about the size of a package of M&Ms). Vampire bats do not attack humans or suck our blood; they prefer to get their teaspoon-sized meals from other animals.

Bats are wild animals, and all wild animals can be dangerous. Additionally, grounded bats are more likely to be sick so they should never be rescued bare-handed.

Bats are shy, gentle, and intelligent. They are among the slowest reproducing animals on earth. Most bat species have only one live young per year.

Scientists have discovered that vampire bat saliva is better at keeping blood from clotting than any known medicine. Vampire bats may one day help prevent heart attacks and strokes.

Bats are primarily found in forests and savannas. Colonies of bats roost together in tall trees.

In some parts of Africa straw-colored fruit bats are considered a delicacy. Elsewhere they are considered pests and killed to prevent the destruction of fruit crops. Studies, however, have shown that bats only eat very ripe and unmarketable fruit and may even help reduce fungi and fruit flies in commercial plantations. Bats are also slaughtered because of superstitions and the musky odors and noise emanating from their roosting places.

Bats, like most wild animals, will bite if handled, but if left alone they normally will avoid contact.

Bats are versatile. The insect-eating type is a natural pesticide. Bat excrement, called guano, is sold as fertilizer. And seed dispersal and pollination activities of certain bats help tropical forests survive.

A bat will eat half its weight in insects in a single night.

Fewer people have died from bat rabies during the past 40 years than have died from dog bites or bee stings in a single year.

Although the bat is not blind, its eyes are best adapted to seeing in the dark, and see in only black-and-white.

The thumbs of the forefoot are small, equipped with sharp claws and not connected to the membrane.

Bats are very shy creatures and like most wild animals, avoid contact with humans while going about their business of eating, reproducing and avoiding predators.

When a bat returns to its roost for its upside-down sleep, it will spend as much as 30 minutes cleaning itself before settling down to sleep.

Some species of bats prefer to live alone in trees.

Nearly all bats that live in the United States feed on insects.

Mating may occur two or even three times a year

Bats have many natural enemies and large numbers of them die while still young.

The most significant causes of premature bat death, however, are the activities of people.

Bat droppings (guano) support entire ecosystems of unique organisms, including bacteria useful in detoxifying wastes, improving detergents and producing gasohol and antibiotics.

microbats eat insects, blood (small quantities of the blood of animals), small mammals, and fish

Mother bats usually have only one offspring per year

they are viviparous

Young microbats become independent at the age of 6 to 8 weeks

At the age of two years, bats are sexually mature

megabats not until they are four months old

A single bat can live over 20 years

Most microbats are active at night or at twilight

In Western Culture, the bat is often a symbol of the night and its foreboding nature

the rain interferes with their echo location

Only three species sustain themselves with blood.

Only 0.5% of bats carry rabies

Bats have very small teeth and can bite a sleeping person without being felt

Bats are closely associated with vampires

Bats are also a symbol of ghosts, death, and disease

Chinese lore claims the bat is a symbol of longevity and happiness

the bat is a trickster spirit

Bats rarely fly in rain

A measure of the success of bats is their estimated total of about 1,100 species worldwide, accounting for about 20 percent of all mammal species.

Some bats have evolved a highly sophisticated sense of hearing.

Gestation 40 days - 6 months

Litter Size Mostly one pupFor their size, bats are the slowest reproducing mammals on Earth.

Male bats do not help to raise the pups.

The greatest threat to bats is people.