Celebrate Bat Week, Oct 24-31
Monday, October 14, 2024
Did you know:
- Bats are the only flying mammal!
- Bats aren't blind; they can actually see quite well.
- There are over 1,400 species of bats worldwide.
- About 70% of all bats eat insects (moths, beetles, flies, mosquitos) but the rest might eat mice, frogs, and fish, or pollen, nectar and fruit or even the blood of other animals.
- Most of the bats in the U.S. eat insects, so here in Illinois they are either already hibernating or have migrated south due to lack of food.
- Bats are great pollinators and help disperse seeds.
- We have bats to thank for tequila, figs, chocolate and many more food items!
- Unfortunately, due to habitat loss, collisions with wind turbines, and diseases, like White-Nose Syndrome, bat populations are in decline.
To learn more about why bats matter, and to help protect these amazing aerial acrobats, click here.