365 True Things: 187/Bats

Yesterday while waiting for an appointment I picked up a Sunset magazine. In it was an article about Carlsbad Caverns, and I was blown away by a factoid it presented: there are 1,331 species of bats in the world, representing 25 percent of all mammals. Wow!

So today I researched a bit further, and have found somewhat different numbers: Wikipedia, 1,240 spp./20 percent; livescience.com, 900–1,200 spp./20 percent. Slightly less, but still: I had no idea! They're the second largest order of mammals (after rodents), Chiroptera—the name means "hand wing."

Often during the summer we see bats fluttering and swooping over our house. It always gives me joy to watch them. Though now that I think about it, I haven't seen them this year. I was always convinced that they lived in our big Monterey pine. Maybe they've moved on? Or maybe they died. . . . Or maybe I just haven't been outside looking at the sky at the right late-afternoon moment. Which is too bad. I should do something about that.

(David confirms: he's seen them lately. I obviously need to get out more.)

Here's some more fun facts:

• Almost all bats in the U.S., and 70 percent of bats worldwide, feed exclusively on insects, gobbling down between 600 and 1,000 mosquitoes and other insects in an hour.
• Vampire bats, found in Mexico and Central and South America, are the only mammal that feeds exclusively on blood; they only need a couple of tablespoons a day. And they sip, or maybe slurp; they don't suck.
• In Baja, there's a fish-eating bat, Myotis vivesi.
• And then of course there are all those batty fruit bats, which makes them important pollinators.
• The smallest bat is the Kitti’s hog-nosed bat, or bumblebee bat—only a little over an inch long and weighing 2 grams (the weight of a dime). It roosts in limestone caves in Thailand and Myanmar. The largest bat in the world is the giant golden-crowned flying fox, or golden-capped fruit bat, close to 5 feet long and weighing 3 pounds. Endemic to the forests of the Philippines, it is highly endangered.

And in case you were wondering—rodents? Again, numbers vary (wildly), but well over 2,000 species: 40 percent of all mammals. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.