Notes

A long time ago, we used to think bats were birds without feathers. But now we know that there is no such thing as a birds without feathers. We know that bats are mammals, just like people. we know bats are warm blooded, they nurse their babies with milk and, they have fur. But bats are very special mammals. They are the only mammals that can fly. Flying squirrels are mammals too, but they don't really fly. They jump from high in a tree glide through the air like a kite. Bats flap their wings and fly like a bird. Bat wings are made of two thin layers of skin stretched over the bat's arm and fingers. Bats have a thumb and four fingers, just like people. The bat's fingers are very long compared to its body. If we had fingers like a bat, they would be longer than our legs. Bat wings go all the way down the side of the bat's body and partway down its legs.When bats fly, they don't just flap up and down. If you watch them closely, it almost looks like they're pulling themselves through the air the movement is similar to the butterfly stroke in swimming. Bats use their wings for more than just flying. They can wrap their wings around insects or fruit to hold it while eating. When most of us think of bats, the Vampire Bat is one of the first to come to mind. Vampire bats don't really turn into Count Dracula, they rarely bite people and they rarely kill their prey. Vampire bats prey mainly on cows, horses and other large mammals. They make a shallow wound with their razor-sharp teeth then they lick up the blood. Each bat only drinks about an ounce of blood each night. Although Vampire Bats may be the ones most commonly remembered, there are many other kinds of bats. Bats can be found in most parts of the world forests, deserts, jungles and cities. There are close to 1,000 different species of bats. With all of these different bats, it's not surprising that they don't eat all the same thing.