Even though bats are symbols in some religions of evil and misfortune, some people find them a pest but others find them as noble mammals who capable of powered flight. Bats also have some mysteries that have stunned scientists who have studied them. I am going to answer the following questions about bats the questions are:

1.     How bats see their prey in the dark?

2.     What is the roost or habitat of a bat?

3.     What do bats eat and what eat bats?

1. How do bats see their prey in the dark?

Most bats see by echolocation, this is like radar. A bat was placed in a very dark room; it flew around the room without hitting the walls. The same result was given then the bats eyes were covered. After the first two experiments the bats ears were plugged. The bat lost all sense of direction and started to fly into walls. The reason why was that, it could not use its echolocation. The bat creates high pitch sounds, such as high pitch squeaks. The sounds that bats emit can be as loud as a chainsaw, but luckily these are ultrasonic. These sounds travel ahead of the bat and bounce off any objects in front of the bat. The ethos comes back to the bat that can pick them up.  The longer it takes to return to the bat the further away it is from the bat. As the bat is to the object. The bat can also tell by the echo what type of insect it is chasing, and its size. As the bat gets closer, the echoes take less time to return to the bat. As the bat homes in on the insect, the bat can emit more sound pulses per second.

2. What is the roost or habitat of a bat?

Bats like to roost in caves, trees, hollows in rocks, buildings and even under bridges. Bats live in large groups or colonies; these can contain thousands of bats. The bats usually try to make there home close to a food and water source. The food might be fruit or insects. Bats don’t usually have one roost; they usually have more than two. One will be for their winter hibernation, one for the females to give birth to there young and usually one for mating. If the colony is searching for a new roosting ground, the conditions need to be just right. Bats can sense the body heat and they can also smell the odor of the roosts inhabitants. If the bat colony senses any of these they will move on and continue to search. When the colony finds a suitable roost, they swarm into the roost. To know where bats roost, there will be large piles of guano or droppings on the bottom of the roost.

3. What do bats eat and what eat bats?

There are two different types of bats, there are the mega bats and micro bats, each have its own diet. Mega bats who the largest type of bat, they mainly eat fruit, nectar and flowers. The mega bats usually have no echolocation since they do not need to use echolocation to locate their food with it. The mega bats have very good eyesight and smell, but they can not see in total darkness. Micro bats are the smallest bat species. Within the micro bat species there are other species such as the vampire bats, insectivores and the carnivores. The vampire bats feed on the blood of sleeping animals.  The vampire bats have razor sharp teeth that can cut the skin without the animal feeling it. The salvia of the bat keep the cut from clotting so the bat can lick its meal, the cut will continue to bleed long after the bat has finished feeding. Insectivores usually feed entirely on insects, but some species will still eat fruit and nectar. The insectivores usually have echolocation to help them find insects to eat. The carnivores are a special kind of bat that eats other animals; this will sometimes include other bats.

Owls are the main predator of the bats, in some countries snakes, stoats and even hawks prey on bats. Snakes usually root themselves into crevices and snatch bats as they fly by. Owls and hawks usually catch bats as they are flying on their winter migration. They come down and catch them with their claws. Predators will never enter a roost because the ammonia in the bats dropping is harmful to other animals. All the predators and man made disasters such as deforestation and bush fires are pushing bats to the edge of extinction.

In conclusion I think that bats are a very fascinating species of mammals and should be studied more discover any more secrets around the bat. They are the only mammals of powered flight. Continuous human activity such as deforestation will make the bats an endangered species. If these continuous bats may become extinct for the generations to come.