Very few bats drink blood. However, vampire bats, found in Central America, South America, and Mexico do in fact feed on blood. However, It is not like the vampire bats in the movies that suck the blood of humans so no need to worry. These winged creatures only feed on the blood of warm blooded animals such as horses, cattle, and birds.

Vampire bats drink blood by making a small cut in an animal’s skin while it is sleeping. After making this cut, they lap up the blood from the wound. Vampire bats require about 2 teaspoons of blood per day to survive.

Bats do sometimes carry fleas, as well as lice, mites, and bat bugs. These types of bugs can infest bats, birds, and other animals. Some of these bugs may transmit diseases to humans. If the host animals are killed or leave their nests or roosts, the parasites look for alternate hosts and may wander in the living spaces or structures of others.

Fleas may bite people and domestic animals, however most parasites such as lice are species specific and will not live on humans. Other parasites such as fleas cannot live long away from their preferred hosts, in this case, bats.

Bats can carry lice, however it is not the same type of lice that humans get. Lice are species specific, meaning that people can only get head lice from coming in close contact with other people. Human head lice will live on the scalp area of humans but not bats.

There are two types of lice that bats can get from other bats. Don’t panic though because again lice are species specific, these will not try to live on a human. The first type of lice that a bat can get is called biting lice. They stick to a bat’s fur and feed off of his dead flakes of skin. The second type of lice that a bat can get is called sucking lice. These nasty little guys feed off of the blood and attach themselves to a bat’s skin.

Bats always sleep upside down hanging from a high and secluded spot. Their biological characteristics make it necessary for them to sleep in this fashion. In fact, a bat cannot launch itself into flight from the ground like birds can. This is due to the fact that their wings are not as powerful and cannot produce the necessary lift for starting flight. In addition, a bat’s hind legs are very weak and are not developed in a way to allow the creature to run to gain momentum for flight.

Hanging upside down gives bats an ideal position to take off into flight when necessary. These winged creatures simply let go and fall through the air, gaining the momentum that is needed to take off into flight. Another advantage that bats have when hanging upside down is the ability to hide from predators. They also do not have to exert any energy to hang upside down, since they are equipped with unique talons. These talons close around a surface and lock so that the bat can relax in its upside down position without having to worry about falling off.

Bats are able to sit upright and most will do so after a kill. However, most bats prefer to hang upside down, especially when sleeping. It is more difficult for a bat to take shelter in the roof of a cave or building if it is roosting head up.

In addition, Bat’s wings do not produce enough lift to take off from a dead stop and a bat’s legs are somewhat weak, sometimes making it difficult to build up the necessary speed for takeoff during flight as they are rendered unable to run. This might be another reason why it is more difficult for them to sit upright and why you will not often find them in this position.

It is not uncommon for bats to fit under doors. In fact, bats can squeeze through a hole about the size of a quarter, making it very easy for them to enter rooms by crawling under doors and in through small spaces. The good news is that bats are not as harmful as most people assume. In fact, a healthy bat will never attack a human unless it is in self defense; say if you tried to attack the bat first and it were trying desperately to flee to safety.

If a bat gets into your house through a small opening or door, try to catch it and release it back outdoors, but make sure that you never handle these winged creatures without a pair of very thick gloves.Bat proofing is the safest and most permanent way of defending one’s home from unwanted bats. This usually involves finding all entry and exit ways that the bat has been using and closing the area off to prevent future residence. It is important to make sure that there are no bats or young pups trapped inside before sealing these areas off.

There is actually very little scientific data on the subject of bats and water, however observations by naturalists in the field seem to support the fact that some bats have been known to swim in stressful situations, though this is not normally part of their ordinary behavior pattern.

No bats, however, have been observed holding their breath underwater. In a nut shell, bats do not typically go underwater, but are able to swim if it is necessary. For instance, if a bat accidently fell into a swimming pool or other body of water, he or she would be able to swim to safely in most cases, though they might not enjoy it very much.

Bats have a number of different ways for communicating, and it is true that purring is one of them. Most species of bats use the same main form of communication, through scent. This is especially true during times of mating. This scent is produced from nasal glands that enlarger during the mating season. Bats make a variety of different sounds that seem to be related to communication, or expressing emotions with other bats.

Some species of bats have been known to purr, buzz, and even click, again, usually before mating. When mother bats and their pups recognize one another, they make audible sounds and the young bats can be seen vocalizing an isolation cry that helps the imprinting process between mother and offspring. Some species of bats may also honk to help prevent midair collisions between foraging adults.

To help them find their prey in the dark, most species of bats have indeed developed a navigation system called echolocation. Bats make sounds the same way that we humans do, by moving air past their vibrating vocal chords. These winged creatures have been known to emit sounds from their mouths which they hold open as they fly, or through their nose.

How Echolocation Works

Echolocation is extremely high pitched and beyond human hearing range. However, the sound behaves the same way as the sound of a human shouting. It travels through air as a sound wave and the energy of that wave then bounces off of whatever objects it comes across. Bats emit these sound waves and then listen very carefully to the echoes that return to them. A bat’s brain processes the returning information and uses it to figure out how far away a certain object is, along with how big the object is, and what direction it is moving in.

Processing Information

Bats are also able to tell if an insect is to the right or left. They do this by comparing when the sound reaches its right ear to when it reaches the left ear. If the sound of the echo reaches the right ear before it reaches the left, then the insect is to the right and vice versa. Bats have very complex ears. They are able to determine an insect’s vertical position and can even tell if an insect is edible or not.

Bats are able to tell the size of an insect based on the intensity of an echo. A smaller object reflects less of a sound wave and therefore produces a less intense echo as well. The bat can sense in which direction the insect is moving based on the pitch of the echo. For instance, if the insect is moving away from the bat, the returning echo will have a lower pitch than the original sound, while the echo from an insect moving toward the bat will have a higher pitch. This difference is due to something known as the Doppler effect.

Last but not least, contrary to what many believe, most bats have pretty good vision. They use echolocation alongside their vision, not instead of it.

A bat’s fur has different colors and designs that help protect it from predators. In fact, it can even serve as camouflage to help them hide from danger. Some bats can be found living underneath big leaves and using this camouflage to better disguise themselves, while others have been known to roost under the bark of trees, hide in dark caves and/or abandoned buildings and mines, and other areas. Much like a cat, bats will lick their fur regularly to keep it clean. In the winter, and during hibernation, a bat’s fur helps keep it warm.