Tag archives for Bats
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How did Holly the housecat find her way back to her home 200 miles away? Scientists aren’t sure. “Any animal that comes back to the right place after a long travel, or comes back to the same place again and again following a major movement, is amazing,” said Martin Wikelski, a migration expert at the Max Planck Institute.
There are plenty of animals who are very good at finding their way. The European eel, which travels thousands of miles from the place it was born to spawn. Mexican free-tailed bats fly up to 40 miles away from their home caves while they’re hunting for dinner, and are able to find their way back home.
Read about more amazing animal navigators on National Geographic News.
Get the facts on your favorite animals on National Geographic Kids.
A New Bat Species With an Unusual Face
What’s wrong with this bat’s face? Nothing at all! This is a Griffin’s leaf-nosed bat. It was first seen in Vietnam’s Chu Mom Ray National Park in 2008, but has only recently been confirmed as a new species. Scientists think that the leaf-like features on the bat’s face may help them with echolocation.
Read more about this new bat on National Geographic News.
Get the facts on vampire bats on National Geographic Kids.
Photograph courtesy Vu Dinh Thong
Sucker-Footed Bat Secretes Sticky Sweat
Most bats hang upside down when they’re resting. A bat called Myzopoda aurita that lives in Madagascar hangs right-side up. Scientists recently discovered that these bats don’t use suction to hang, even though part of the scientific name, Myzopoda, means “sucker foot.” As it turns out, the sucker-footed bat doesn’t have suction cups, but is able to “glue” itself upright by secreting a sticky sweat from its wrists and ankles.
Watch scientists test a sucker-footed bat’s grip on glass.
Learn more about the sucker-footed bat on National Geographic News.
Read about the bats of Bracken Cave on National Geographic Kids.
Photograph by Newspix/Rex USA
Violent storms can be disastrous for baby flying foxes in Australia. Strong winds can knock the babies from the protection of their mothers’ wings, and many have not learned how to fly. Luckily for the bats, there are volunteers to swoop in and rescue them.
One particularly fierce storm sent hundreds of baby bats helplessly to the ground. Over three days, volunteers transported the babies to the Australian Bat Clinic & Wildlife Trauma Centre. Doctors at the clinic treated the bats for injuries and broken bones and monitored them until they learned to fly.
Read the full story by Scott Elder in the October 2009 issue of National Geographic Kids, on newsstands now.
See a video of flying foxes on National Geographic Kids.
Read a story about Dunia, a rescued baby gorilla, on National Geographic Kids.
