Question 2 of 21

How many species of bats are there?

... There are more than 900 species of bats. Bats are the only flying mammals and they make up the Chiroptera group. Fruit bats make up the Megachiroptera group, while all other bats fall into the Microchiroptera group.

Question 3 of 21

Chiroptera comes from the Greek words for "hand" and "wing." Why are bats classified as Chiroptera?

... The wings of a bat are actually very long hands and fingers. Skin stretches over the fingers to the sides of their bodies and their legs, creating wings.

Question 4 of 21

What sort of wings would a bat that flies quickly have?

... A bat that flies quickly will have long and narrow wings, while a bat that flies slowly will have short, wide wings that allow it to make sharp turns. When a bat wants to fly, it stretches out its arms and fingers, pulling the skin on its wings tight. Then it flaps its wings in order to move through the air and adjust its wing shape in order to steer, allowing it to dip, dive and turn.

Question 5 of 21

Which of the following sentences is true?

... Despite what people think, bats are unlikely to attack people or transmit disease. Rather, bats help to stabilize the environment by spreading pollen and eating insects.

Question 6 of 21

How wide is the wingspan of a flying fox?

... The flying fox is the largest type of bat. Its wingspan is around six feet (two meters) wide and its body is around one foot long.

Question 7 of 21

How long do bats generally live for?

... Bats generally live between 10 to 20 years.

Question 8 of 21

What do vampire bats eat?

... Vampire bats live up to their name, living off the blood of other animals, including humans. Most bats, however, eat insects and fruit bats eat fruit.

Question 9 of 21

On its hands, a bat has a thumb and how many fingers?

... A bat has four fingers and a thumb on its hands.

Question 10 of 21

What do bats use their legs for?

... A bat's legs are usually very weak and many bats do not walk at all. Rather, they use their legs to hang from their roost. Bats have five toes on their feet, each of which has a curved claw that bats use to support themselves while hanging upside down.

Question 11 of 21

With which part of their body are bats able to see?

... The phrase "blind as a bat" is not exactly true. Bats have very well developed eyes, but are active at night, when it is hard to see with their eyes.

Question 12 of 21

How do bats make up for the poor visibility at night?

... Bats use the process of echolocation to navigate and to find prey at night time. Echolocation is when the bats send out high-pitched sounds and listen to the way that the sound bounces back to them, telling them how close they are to other objects.

Question 13 of 21

Flying foxes are fruit bats, meaning they eat a diet of different fruits. What part of the fruit do the bats eat?

... The flying fox usually claws into the fruit and presses it against the roof of its mouth, squeezing out all the juice. The bat then swallows the juice and spits out the pulp, skin and seeds. Flying foxes mainly eat wild figs, but they also like mangoes, bananas and papayas.

Question 14 of 21

Where are flying foxes usually found?

... Flying foxes live in high trees in the tropical regions of Africa, Australia and Asia. Other types of bats may be found in trees, caves, abandoned buildings or caves.

Question 15 of 21

Bats prefer to spend their time hanging upside down. For which activities do bats turn right-side up?

... Bats fly right-side up and almost always get rid of waste right-side up. Many bats give birth right-side up, but some birth upside down. Mothers nurse their babies upside down, holding the baby in their wings.

Question 16 of 21

Some bats build a tent as shelter. How do they do this?

... Some bats in the wet forests of Central and South America make themselves tents using the large leaves of the Heliconia plant. Heliconia leaves fold into an A-shape and the bats bite into the ridge of the leaf, to create a place where they can hang from. Over 20 bats may take shelter in a single, large Heliconia leaf.

Question 17 of 21

How do bats generally roost?

... Bats generally nest in colonies and are quite social creatures. However, some bats prefer to roost alone. Some species of bats have colonies that are all male or all female.

Question 18 of 21

Little brown bats are one of the most common bats in North America. What do they eat?

... A little brown bat can eat hundreds of mosquitoes in a night. They can eat more insects than their own body weight. Big brown bats, a relative of the little brown bat, eats hundreds of beetles in a night.

Question 19 of 21

What happens to a bat if it gets rabies?

... Rabies is rare among bats but, if they do get rabies, bats will die. Bats with rabies die quietly and will not be obviously sick. This is why it is important not to pick up a bat that looks injured or unwell, since they may be quietly dying from rabies. If they get scared and bite you, you may catch the disease from them.

Question 20 of 21

Bats are endangered by whom?

... Some species of bats have become endangered because humans have destroyed their habitats, by entering their caves or cutting down their trees. People also kill bats to protect livestock and fruit. Another danger to bats are parasites, such as ticks, mites and fleas, which live off the bat's body but can make it sick and weak. Bats do not have many predators, since they are nocturnal, but snakes, raccoons, opossums and tarantulas do prey on bats.

Question 21 of 21

Guano is sought after by humans. What is guano?

... Guano is bat waste and is rich with nutrients. Guano is mined from the floors of large caves for farmers, who use it as fertilizer.