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Class:
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Mammalia
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Order:
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Chiroptera
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Life span:
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Average 5 years, up to 30 years
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Gestation:
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40 days – 10 months, depending on species and food availability
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Number of young at birth:
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Usually 1 per year, some species have twins or triplets
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Age of maturity:
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18 – 24 months
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Weight:
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Heaviest - flying fox, 3.3 lb
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Size at birth:
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0.008 – 13 oz depending on species
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Fun Facts:
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Bats pollinate the world’s fruit producing plants and eat thousands of mosquitoes at night.
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Bats are not blind, although some bats do use echolocation to find their insects and meals.
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A mother bat can locate her pup by its scent and sound out of millions in a roost.
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Bats roost upside down, usually in large social groups, in caves, trees and man-made structures.
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All bats live on milk from birth up to six months of age.
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About 70 percent of all bats eat insects.
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Some bats eat fruit, nectar, fish and three species even eat blood.
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Some male bats sing to attract a mate.
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Females only have one baby, called a pup, per year, although some species may have twins or quadruplets.
