Special to Official Kids Mag
Books and Hollywood have done much to villainize bats,
which many people perceive to be dangerous, blood-sucking
creatures that prey on unsuspecting victims. However, bats are
far less menacing than that.
While there are bats that feed on blood (vampire bats), they
tend to stick to cows, pigs, horses, and birds for their meals.
It is uncommon for vampire bats to bite humans for food.
Vampire bats make a small cut with their teeth and then lap up
the blood with their tongues, rather than "suck" the blood like
they do in movies. These bats are native to Central and South
America.
Most other bats feed on fruit, fish or insects, particularly those
that reside in North America. A single bat can eat up to 1,200
mosquito-sized insects every hour, and a bat will usually eat
around 8,000 insects a night. In fact, it is beneficial to have bats
around since they might serve as all-natural pesticides.
Bats are nocturnal mammals that "see" in the dark using
echolocation. Their eyesight is actually quite poor, but these
echoes serve as a form of sonar so that bats can find prey and
steer clear of obstacles in their path.
There are more than 1,000 different bat species. Some are
solitary animals, while others thrive with hundreds of others in
caves. Bats are nothing to fear - even around Halloween - and
actually can be fascinating to study.
Bats are our friends
MEGABATS are found in
tropical and subtropical areas
of Eurasia, Africa, and
Oceania.Compared to
insectivorous bats, fruit
bats are relatively
large and, with
some exceptions,
do not navigate by
echolocation. They
are herbivores and
rely on their keen
senses of sight and
smell to locate food.
Source: Wikipedia
That's
batty!
6...
Villainize
verb
vil·lain·ized,
vil·lain·iz·ing.
1. To speak ill of;
disparage; vilify.
Off icialKidsMag.com • OC T & NOV 2018 • 13
