Sorry, Rocky the Squirrel, but… The bat, which makes up about 25% of all mammals, is the only true flying mammal. There are 42 species in the US. Bats are one of our most misunderstood and feared animals, but it is probably the most beneficial of the animals to humans as they eat a lot of insects.

Although they are considered beneficial animals as they feed on insects and expend the least amount of energy to obtain that food – good for them, still, bats can cause some threats to human health. A certain type of fungus that grows from their guano can cause histoplasmosis (a disease that affects the lungs) and bacteria from their saliva can cause rabies, a viral disease that can cause encephalitis.

To prevent these health threats, it is recommended that you wear protective gear in caves when spelunking and otherwise limit your contact with bats. Fewer than 10 people in the last 50 years have contracted rabies from North American bats. (Whew!) Let them do their job as insectivores.

A single brown bat can eat around 1,200 mosquito size insects in one hour. Vampire bats don’t suck blood (they lap it up) and generally attack livestock and wild animals. Bats’ digestion is much quicker than a human.

Some bats, usually referred to as megabats eat fruit, nectar, or pollen. Many species have adapted to local conditions (islands, for example) and may feed on fruit, nectar, pollen, fish, frogs, small mammals, or the blood of animals.

Flight has enabled bats to become one of the most widely distributed groups of mammals. Apart from the Arctic, the Antarctic and a few isolated oceanic islands, bats exist all over the world. Bats are found in almost every habitat available on Earth.

Bats use echolocation to navigate at night. Bats do use their eyesight during the day, but prefer night for protection and convenience.

In European cultures, bats have long been associated with witchcraft, black magic and darkness. The Weird Sisters incorporate the fur of a bat in their brew in Shakespeare’s Macbeth, written around 1603-1605. Because bats are mammals, yet can fly, this gives them status as liminal beings in many cultural traditions. In Western culture, the bat is often a symbol of the night and its foreboding nature.

The bat is an animal primarily associated with fictional characters of the night, both villains, such as Dracula, and heroes, such as Batman the Dark “Knight.” An interesting association of the fear of the night with this animal was treated as a literary challenge by Kenneth Oppel, who created a best-selling series of novels, beginning with Silverwing, which feature bats as the central heroic figures in an anthropomorphized world.