We’re celebrating bat diversity this International Bat Appreciation Day! Fun facts:
🦇 47 bat species in North America
🦇 About 1,400 bat species worldwide
🦇 Nearly 1 in 5 mammal species are bats
🦇 Bats are the only true flying mammals
Learn more about these mammals, how they maintain a healthy natural world for people and wildlife, and how you can help: http://ow.ly/Gq8350E9XAh
From providing essential pest control to pollinating our plants, bats are the unsung heroes of the night. Pictured here is the small but mighty lesser long-nosed bat, which is key to maintaining fragile desert ecosystems by pollinating both the saguaro cactus and agave (which is used to make tequila). It’s also a conservation success story. In 1988, there were fewer than 1,000 of these nectar-feeding bats, but today, there are an estimated 200,000 bats at 75 roosts in the Southwest and Mexico. Learn more about some of the different bat species in the United States: https://on.doi.gov/2JfdGmS. Photo by National Park Service.
Called creepy, scary and spooky, bats often get a bad rap. These little creatures are an important species that impact our daily lives in ways we might not even realize – from pollinating our favorite fruits to eating pesky insects to inspiring medical marvels. Learn more about bats: http://on.doi.gov/bats
Called creepy, scary and spooky, bats often get a bad rap. These little creatures are an important species that impact our daily lives in ways we might not even realize – from pollinating our favorite fruits to eating pesky insects to inspiring medical marvels. We’re celebrating Bat Week and the heroes of the night with 13 awesome bat facts (and amazing photos): http://on.doi.gov/bats
Here’s some Bat Week trivia for you: Bats can eat their body weight in insects before the sun comes up. Yum!
What’s scarier than bats? 👻 A world without bats. We’ve lost millions to white-nose syndrome. How can you help? Build a bat house and support public lands that provide healthy habitats for bats. Check out more cool bat facts at: http://on.doi.gov/1iifb4k
It’s Bat Week – a week dedicated to celebrating the importance of bats! Far from scary, these little creatures are super helpful! Bats act as pollinators and are also natural pest control. How can you help bats? Build a bat box for your yard to provide bats with a safe home. Check out more cool facts at http://on.doi.gov/1iifb4k
It’s Pollinator Week! From butterflies and bees to hummingbirds and beetles, these small but mighty species are important to our everyday lives. Without them, we would have fewer fruit, vegetables and nuts – not to mention chocolate and coffee. Learn more: http://on.doi.gov/1R1OFXQ
Video of a hummingbird eating nectar from a snow plant at Sequoia National Park in California by Steven Bumgardner. 🌷🐝🌹🐛💐
Happy Halloween - one of the coolest symbols of this special day are bats! Bats are amazing animals that are vital to the health of our environment and economy - eating tons of insects nightly, pollinating flowers and spreading seeds that that grow new plants and even trees. Bats are in decline nearly everywhere they are found. Bats in the U.S. and Canada have declined dramatically as the disease, #whitenosesyndrome has killed over 6 million bats in just six years. To learn more about what we’re doing to combat this disease, visit www.whitenosesyndrome.org/.
Photo: Mexican free-tailed bats exiting Bracken Bat Cave in Texas. (Ann Froschauer/@USFWS)
Happy Halloween! Bats might be considered spooky by some, but there are a vital part of our ecosystem. There are more than 1,100 species of bats and they can be found on every continent except Antarctica. Only three species of bats suck blood. Most eat insects – small bats can eat up to 2,000 insects every night, saving many crops from being destroyed.
About 30 percent of bat species eat fruit, pollen or nectar. Bananas, dates, coconut, cloves, vanilla, Brazil nuts and avocados all depend on bats for pollination. Bats help spread seeds for nuts, figs, allspice and cacao, from which chocolate is made. Fruit bats eat the cacao fruit and discard the bean, which grows into a new tree.
Alabama’s Fern Cave National Wildlife Refuge is the largest known hibernation cave for gray bats. Between 800,000 and one million gray bats winter here. Bat experts also believe as many as one million Indiana bats may be using Fern Cave. Another 300,000 gray bats roost in Sauta Cave National Wildlife Refuge, also in Alabama.
Photo: USFWS
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