Are Bats Blind?

Most people believe the myth that bats tend to be blind. This myth might have originated from the fact that bats mostly are nocturnal mammals. The truth but is that bats are not normally blind. All bats can easily see, except those with eye problems. Although all bats are usually blind at the time of their birth, they begin to see soon after. Younger bats begin to see 7 to nine days right after birth. Their eyes are generally small and not as well developed as those of other nocturnal animals. Other senses are more developed on these mammals to make up for this condition. Their eyes are nevertheless fully functional, being able to even identify different colors.

Two Groups Of Bats
Bats are generally categorized into two major categories. The megachiroptera group consists of bigger bats that mainly prey on fruits and nectar. These bats have bigger eyes with increased sight capabilities. They mainly rely on their sight to find out food and avoid obstacles within their path. The other group of bats, microchiroptera, generally consists of bats that are smaller in size and go after insects. These have smaller eyes that are also less pronounced. Nevertheless, they are able to see obviously during the daytime or within environments with sufficient quantity of light. These types of bats however rely greatly on echolocation to search for their prey and also to avoid other objects in their route. If you have Bats in the Attic, they are most likely microchiroptera, because they rely more heavily on echolocation and prefer low-light areas.

How Does Echolocation Function?
Bats which are grouped in the microchiroptera group generally have poorly designed eyes. These nocturnal mammals hunt insects for meals at night. To compensate for the bad vision at night, the bats have supersensitive ears. Therefore, they use a sonar system to help them locate objects as well as navigate safely throughout places with little light. The technique they use is known as echolocation. Bats are able to produce a high frequency sound that is beyond human being hearing range. This is produced through the nose or with the mouth. When the sound strikes object that are close, it really is reflected back toward the bat in form of an replicate or echo. Supersensitive ears receive this particular echo for transmission in to the bat’s brain. The brain scans the echo and utilizes it to establish the size, area, shape and texture from the object reflecting the sound. The actual bat can thus have the ability to navigate through obstacles and also to find and hunt insects. A few bats even apply this specific property to distinguish insects which can be safe to be eaten through those that are not. The high frequency sound produced by the bats can only be heard by humans when a scientist’s bat detector is used.

How Do Bats Travel?
Bats would be the only mammals that can travel through the air. Their body is designed in such a way that allows them to fly easily to one point to another. Their wings consist of a double membrane layer extended on five digits (like human hands) which might be spread out. These digits provide strong physical support towards the wings. Unlike birds, bats do not flap the whole forelimb. They only flap their wings by use of only one muscle mass. This makes their wings really energy efficient requiring only little bit of energy to fold, flap and fly. It also allows the mammals to have the ability to fly for a longer time and also to flup up and down their wings rapidly. Their own bones are light in order to facilitate flying. Smaller bats have smaller wings compared to larger bats. This allows the greater bats to fly quicker and for longer distances. Smaller sized bats are however in a position to turn, hang around and rewrite with more ease compared to the much larger bats.

What Bo Bats Consume?
More than 70 percent of bats are labeled in the microchiroptera group. These kinds of bats mainly hunt for bugs for food at night. These bats hunt for insects such as lures, cockroaches, mosquitoes, and beetles. These bats usually utilize echolocation to hunt for their own prey during the night. When they track down their prey, these mammals catch and eat the actual insects as they fly or even trap them in their wings to snack on them later on when they go back to their roosts. This action happens very fast and also cannot be observed with the nude eyes. Some bats are generally specialized in feeding on licor. These will have adapted functions such as extended snouts along with tongues for getting the ambrosia. Others will eat fresh and sweet fruits. They would use their particular mouths to pluck as well as carry fruits such as apples, oranges, grapes, bananas and also watermelons. They will then go to eat them in their roosts causing dispersal of the seed products. There are also bats that feast upon other animals such as frogs, birds, rodents, fish, lizards, or even other bats. 3 species of bats completely rely on blood for survival. All these, like vampires, lick blood from household animals and birds following biting them.