What do bats usually eat: what is included in their diet and how they breed

Are you curious to know what bats eat? We will be happy to answer this question and reveal information about these amazing animals.

Most people associate bats with Count Dracula, vampires and horror films, although, if you look, they are completely harmless animals and not bloodsuckers at all, although many of us are sure of the opposite.

Habits

Despite the fact that bats live in a wide variety of environmental conditions and their large number of species, there are habits that are remarkably similar. Almost all of them are nocturnal, and during the day, hanging head down, they sleep off. Bats don’t make nests. Most of them live in groups: there are only a few species that lead a solitary lifestyle.

In winter, the animals settle in secluded places for hibernation, and in hot weather they take refuge for feeding the cubs, as well as mating. Most often, these animals live in the following places:

• in the hollows of trees;
• old mines;
• caves, as well as crevices;
• old houses are also to their liking.

Large flying individuals that feed on fruits prefer to hang on trees. They are on vacation carefully monitor their own appearancewhile cleaning the abdomen, chest and wings.

Mobility, if they do not fly, will depend entirely on the species: some are practically helpless, others, having folded their wings, climb well and can skip, and some individuals like to swing, thereby looking for a comfortable place.

What is included in the main diet of bats?

All bats differ in external characteristics and also feed differently. Many of them can eat insectswithout giving any preference. During flight, the bat constantly emits ultrasounds through its mouth or nose. Having caught an echo, which is reflected, for example, from a mosquito, she falls silent for a few seconds in order to grab prey on the fly, after which she continues to hunt further. Some flying “monsters” swallow insects with their mouths, while others rake them with their wings, like a net, others fold their tail membrane like a net and catch insects.

It is interesting! Bats that eat insects can catch and consume about two hundred in just an hour of hunting. A similar property of such mammals brings certain benefits to people – they eat a lot of insects, thereby protecting fields and orchards from pests.

But there are also carnivores. Although only a few such species are known in nature. They are able to eat:

• insects;
• frogs;
• lizards;
• birds
• small animals.

An interesting fact is that bats can distinguish dangerous frogs from edible ones.

What else do bats eat?

Some species, for example, feed on fish. These are the inhabitants of Central and South America. They fly over the water at night and grab their prey with powerful paws. They can even cope with fish, whose length reaches ten centimeters. Hunters eat small specimens on the spot, and larger fish are transferred to a secluded place with the help of special cheek pouches.

During the night, one bat is able to catch thirty or forty fish. Scientists still don’t understand how she finds fish underwaterbecause the strength of sound waves decreases as it travels through water.

Some species of mice living in the tropics can eat pollen, flowers, fruits, which contributes to the pollination of plants. Nature endowed such individuals with a very long tongue with which they are able to get nectar. Sri Lankans, as well as Filipinos, often notice how these animals eat fermented palm sap straight from the buckets. After that, it is very funny to watch the uncertain flight of intoxicated mice. But the flower nectar contains very little protein and vitamins, so to replenish them, such mice begin to hunt insects.

Many are interested in the question of what bats eat in captivity. Such animals, most often, are served condensed milk. It is diluted to the consistency of milk and poured into a beaker, which is attached to the wall. Animals just love this treat.

Bloodsucking mice

This is perhaps the most interesting type of animal that many people call vampires. They live in South America. Their hunt begins at dusk. Most often, not only domestic animals, but also wild animals become victims of bloodsuckers. This type of “vampire” has sharp teeth that stick forward. On the body of the victim, they make a small wound, from which they suck out the blood, like a vampire.

It does not fold due to the fact that a special enzyme is present in the saliva of such a mouse. It prevents blood from clotting, while acting as an anesthetic. Scientists have calculated that a blood-sucking mouse, on average, lives up to ten years. During this time, she can drink up to one hundred liters of blood. Flying bloodsuckers can even attack people. The bite itself is not too painful, but the danger lies in the fact that the vampire mouse is the source of a huge amount of disease (for example, the causative agent of rabies).

Bats are the only mammals in existence that are immune to rabies. Biologists are trying to study this incredible feature. There is another interesting fact – in search of a treat, mice can fly up to fifty kilometers overnight. Having chosen some territory, many of them do not violate these boundaries and repeat the same flight route every night.

Almost all species produce offspring once a year. Many have only one baby, but there are also such species (a brown individual) that give birth to three or four cubs at a time. We hope that you liked this material and he was able to answer the question of what bats eat.