The Fascinating World of Bats: Myths, Facts, and Survival Secrets

One of the most unusual and fascinating creatures in creation is the bat. Its body is very similar to that of a mouse, but unlike rodents, it flies and has no functional legs. Its wings are unlike those of any bird, and if we tried to classify it as a bird, we’d immediately see the differences: bats have no beak, no feathers, and instead are covered with fur-like skin. Adding to the puzzle, the young bat feeds on its mother’s milk, just like other mammals.

Is a bat a bird or a mammal? According to Torah classification, the bat is listed among the non-kosher birds, but in modern biology it is recognized as a mammal.

Bat Species Around the World

Scientists have identified close to 1,000 species of bats. In Israel, about 30 species are found. Bats are most common in temperate and tropical regions. They are generally divided into two groups:

• Fruit bats – feeding primarily on fruits and plants.

• Insect-eating bats – feeding mainly on flies and other insects.

Fruit bats tend to be larger than insect-eating bats. A fruit bat can weigh up to 900 grams, with a wingspan of 170 cm (5.5 feet). They locate food by smell using their highly sensitive noses and feed on fruits like loquat, mulberries, carob, ficus, and lychee. By day, fruit bats roost in caves, wells, ruins, or abandoned buildings, preferring dark and humid caves where colonies of thousands may gather. Farmers dislike fruit bats because of the damage they cause to orchards, with losses sometimes estimated in the hundreds of thousands of dollars annually.

Insect-eating bats are smaller — about half the size of fruit bats. They are agile hunters, catching insects mid-flight using their extraordinary hearing, aided by large ears full of folds and ridges.

Birth and Growth

After a 16-week pregnancy, a female bat gives birth to a single pup, usually twice a year. The newborn clings to its mother as she nurses it. In most insect-eating species, the mother leaves her pup in the cave while she hunts, though in emergencies she may fly with the pup clinging to her belly by its teeth. Young bats begin flying at around 9–10 weeks and reach adult size within six months.

A Bat’s Home

Bats are not picky about their homes. They can live in the cracks of old trees, abandoned bird nests, or even unused chimneys. In fact, they don’t need a "house" at all — they simply hang upside down from a branch and sleep through the day, emerging at night to hunt until dawn.

Most bats are brown or gray which serves as the perfect camouflage as creatures of the night.

Vampire Bats: Fact and Fiction

The most notorious type of bat is the vampire bat, known for its unusual diet: blood. These bats quietly land on the backs of their victims, which they locate using smell, sound, heat, and echoes. They can walk, run, and hop along the ground while stalking prey. Their bite leaves only a tiny wound of about 3 millimeters, causing little pain and rarely waking the victim. They do not suck blood directly but instead lap up the trickle that flows from the wound. A vampire bat may consume up to 60% of its body weight in blood, though it digests only the red blood cells, excreting the plasma before finishing its meal.

Seeing with Closed Eyes

Bats fly with thin membranes stretched between their fingers, functioning like flexible wings. As nocturnal creatures, their eyes are adapted for darkness but are relatively weak.

How do they navigate so precisely in total darkness? This is possible due to their extraordinary natural radar system known as echolocation. Bats emit high-frequency sounds and interpret the returning echoes to map their surroundings. This system allows them to fly with incredible accuracy, even in caves and enclosed spaces, and to do so at remarkable speeds.

Misunderstood Creatures

Since bats emerge only after nightfall, people rarely see them. They never attack humans, and there is therefore no reason to fear them. Still, their odd appearance has given rise to myths and horror stories, portraying them as cursed or bloodthirsty creatures. In truth, bats are far from these legends. Even if not always helpful, they are certainly not harmful.

A Small Link in a Vast Design

The bat remains one of the strangest and most marvelous creatures in nature, but it is only a small link in the vast chain of creation, where everything is interconnected and balanced with astonishing precision. The deeper scientists study the natural world, the more clearly they uncover structure, order, and harmony, which is evidence of profound intelligence behind it all.