Although they are the stuff of many people’s unrealistic nightmares, bats play an important role in our ecosystem and are a regular sight in South Africa. And they are truly not half as scary as Hollywood horror movies would have you believe.
When on a Kruger Park safari, you will see bats hanging from the thatch of huts and dining facilities in various rest camps. In the evenings they come alive as they go out in search of an insect filled meal.
There are many misconceptions linked to bats, that the mere mention of the word often sends a chill up the spine of the misinformed. Through the ages, bats have gained a reputation of being connected to that which is evil. This idea has not been helped by that fact that it is often believed that they suck your blood!
The truth is that bats don’t attack people and they rarely carry diseases such as rabies.
Instead, bats actually play a vital role in the biodiversity and also in the sustainability of our environment. And here are some interesting facts that you might enjoy.
- In South Africa we are fortunate to have 7 different fruit eating bats as well as 65 species of insectivorous bats.
- Bats are a farmer’s best friend since they benefit the farmer by eating insects, including mosquitos. Records state that 300 000 bats eat about 100 tons of insects a year.
- Bats also play a role in the pollinations of plants.
- Although bats can be a problem if they move into your roof, it is illegal to poison them. Instead, they have to be humanely removed.
- Bats are the only mammals that are capable of flying. Their wings consist of a thin membrane that extends over the bats forelimbs along its sides and down to its ankles.
- When out hunting they make use of their exceptional hearing.
- When flying, bats send out a high frequency sound from their nostrils and mouth. This sound is often heard by humans and sounds like a clicking sound. The sound is then reflected off solid objects thus enabling the bat to avoid flying into objects.
- The fruit eating bats are larger than the insect eating bats and have a “dog” like face. Their diet consists mainly of very overripe soft-fleshy fruits which include guavas, mangos, peaches or figs. Some only consume the juice of these fruits and discard the seeds. In this way the bat actually serve an important service by distributing the seeds across the countryside. These bats don’t drink water as they take all their moisture from the fruit. Insect eating bats are smaller than fruit eating bats and they have tails.
- Since bats are mammals, they have fur and give birth to live young. The baby bats are fed milk by their mothers. Although most bats have only one baby a year, it has been recorded that in warmer climates, bats do sometimes have another baby in the second half of summer. Bat babies, known as pups, are born pink and hairless with small stubby wings. For the first few weeks of their lives they are unable to fly and have to stay in their roosts. Fruit bats will carry their young with them at night while insect eating bats leave their young at the roost.
- Bats are extremely clean animals and are known for using their hind feet as combs to grooms themselves. They carry very few parasites and of those few none can be transferred to humans.
