10 Crazy Facts About Bats

1. Bats can live to be more than 30 years old.

If you were spooked by the bats terrorizing Rio on Zoo, you might be surprised to find out we're not all that different. Not only do they have a lifespan longer than most domestic pets, they're also a lot like us. While many associate bats with vermin and other pests, these flying friends are more closely related to humans than they are to rodents.

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2. Bats can find their food in total darkness.

There really is a reason why they come out at night: Bats don't need their eyes! They locate insects by emitting high-pitched sounds (inaudible to humans) and listen for the echoes. African heart-nosed bats can hear the footsteps of a beetle walking on sand from a distance of more than six feet—no light needed!

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3. Flying Foxes, the world's largest bats, can have 6-foot wingspans.

And you thought that vampire bats were scary! The Australian Flying Foxes (aka Grey-headed Flying Foxes) have an average of 3.3-ft wingspans! Don't worry, these guys munch on fruit, pollen, and nectar, but then again, they are the size of a toddler.

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7. Vampire bats are the only bats that move well on the ground.

As if people weren't scared enough! Also, because the three species of vampire bats overlap in parts of Central and South America, they specialize in different prey. Across the board, they enjoy blood from mammals, birds, and the occasional human. Yikes!

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4. Bats are the only mammals that can fly.

5. A single brown bat can eat around 1,200 insects in one hour.

In Bracken Cave, Texas, it's estimated that the 20 million Mexican Free-tailed bats that live there eat about 200 tons of insects every single day. That's like a human eating 20 pizzas in one night!

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6. Bats are the slowest reproducing mammals on earth.

Moms give birth to only a single pup each year, making bats very vulnerable to extinction. Fortunately for their survival, the've been known to work together. Contrary to what the name might imply, Vampire bats can be particularly sweet: They adopt orphans—one of the few mammals willing to risk their lives to share food with less fortunate roost-mates.

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8. Bats are heart-stopping.

The Mouse-eared bat has a heartbeat as low as 18 beats a minute during hibernation, which is nothing compared to the 880 beats per minute when it is active. Little brown bats can even stop breathing altogether for 48 minutes at a time while hibernating.

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9. Peter's tent-making bats are great at construction.

These little guys are quite crafty! Tent-makers bite through the vein of a large leaf so that it folds to form a V-shaped shelter. Eventually, the leaf dries up, but a single "tent" can last two months.

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10. Bats sleep easy by sleeping strangely.

Bats enjoy a safe snooze by sleeping upside down! Besides being an excellent way to avoid predators, hanging upside down is optimal because bats are not able to launch into flight from an upright position.

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