We're swoopin' into your feed with some bat fun facts this Halloween! Bats get a bit of a bad rap, but they shouldn't - these critters are excellent pollinators, seed spreaders, and eat a whole lot of insects we find bothersome. In fact, without them we wouldn't have a lot of our favorite Halloween foods (bats are a huge pollinating population for cacao — the main ingredient in chocolate).
🦇 Bats are so unique they actually get their own taxonomic order, Chiroptera, which means hand-winged.
🦇 They are the only mammal that has true flight (unlike, a flying squirrel who really just glides - bats can truly fly!) Their flight is possible due to their specialized wings which are elongated finger bone structures supporting a membrane of skin.
🦇 World wide there are more than 1,100 species of bats, 18 of which live Wyoming (the one pictured here is the Townsend's Big-eared Bat).
🦇 Not all bats hibernate! Some species, like the spotted bat, survive by migrating to warmer climes in search of food when it gets too cold in their winter habitat.
🦇 Bats, like cats, spend a good portion of their day grooming themselves and each other. This reduces parasites and keeps them looking real fly 😉
🦇 By studying bats and their use of echolocation, they have helped humans develop navigational aids for the blind!
Want more? Check out these great articles for more batty business: