Cover photo by climber Nic Blair

Bats

The second-most diverse mammalian group is unique!

Flight – bats are the only group of mammals that can sustain flight. Compared to a host of mammals that have the capacity to glide, bats can reach amazing heights because of some incredible specializations, including wings, thin skin membranes, and powerful, fast hearts.

Echolocation – bats are not the only mammalian group to use ultrasound; however, they are masters of using it to pursue prey in flight. They scream ultrasonic waves into the environment as loud as a jet plane engine, waiting for the rebounding echoes to map their surroundings and chase prey. 

Physiology – because bats’ main mode of travel is via flight they have robust muscles in the chest and back. For a bat the same size as a mouse, the bat will have a heart 3x the size. They can ramp those hearts up to 1100 beats/min in flight, and then slow them to 20 beats/min when in hibernation. 

Dietary breadth – we commonly think of bats eating insects in North America, but bats will also eat blood, fish, amphibians, rodents, nectar, pollen, and fruit.