Bat Basics: How to Understand and Help These Amazing Flying Mammals - Softcover

Krebbs, Karen

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1591938430 ISBN 13: 9781591938439

Publisher: Adventure Publications, 2019

Synopsis

Separate Fact from Fiction with This Fun, Fascinating Guide

We need bats to eat mosquitoes, pollinate plants, and more. Karen Krebbs has been studying the world’s only flying mammals for more than 35 years―and she’s sharing her expertise with you. Learn the bat basics, such as how they use echolocation, why they hibernate, and what they eat. Then use the field guide section to identify common and important species to know.

Inside You’ll Find

• Bat myths debunked―they won’t really fly in your hair or try to bite
• Identification guide to 32 North American species
• Instructions on how to bat-proof a house and what to do if you find a bat indoors
• Projects, activities, and tips to help bats

Get Bat Basics, and celebrate the amazing lives of bats!

About this title

About the Author

Karen Krebbs worked at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum for more than 26 years, and she now works on her own as an independent contractor. She has extensive knowledge of birds, mammals, deserts, and animal adaptations and behavior. Karen has carried out research for bats in the United States and Mexico for more than 30 years. She trains biologists on the proper protocol for handling and studying bats. Karen regularly carries out workshops and presentations on bats and birds to groups, schools, festivals, and organizations in the Southwest and Mexico. Her long-term inventory and monitoring program for bats in the Chiricahua Mountains continues in its twentieth year of study. She has written articles, books, and manuals about bats and birds. She has collaborated with other researchers on many bat research projects, involving local government agencies, universities, research partners in Mexico, and nonprofit organizations. Karen has participated in natural history learning in Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, Mexico, Costa Rica, Africa, Galapagos, and Ecuador. Karen’s passion for bats is contagious! Her animal lectures and presentations are exciting and fun. Karen has a Bachelor’s Degree in Wildlife and Fisheries Science from the University of Arizona. Karen’s latest books include “Desert Life: A Guide to the Southwest’s Iconic Animals and Plants & How They Survive”; “Desert Life of the Southwest Activity Book”; and “Explore Tucson Outdoors.”

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

WHAT ARE BATS?
Bats are mammals, but even though they are often described as “flying mice,” they aren’t closely related to rodents at all. Instead, they belong to their own order of animals, Chiroptera (pronounced Ki-rop-ter-uh).

There are two main groups of bats, the Megachiroptera (which, roughly translated, means “big bats”) and the Microchiroptera (which means “small bats” or “microbats”). As you might expect, bats that belong to Megachiroptera are much larger, and they mainly eat fruit or nectar; they are found in tropical regions of Africa, India, Asia, and Australia. They also don’t often echolocate (use sounds to “see”). Instead, they have very large eyes, enabling them to see well.

Bats belonging to Microchiroptera are found in many places, including North America. All bats found in North America belong to Microchiroptera. These “microbats,” as they are sometimes called, are what most people think of when they think of bats: small, fast animals that use echolocation to see and to track down prey.

With the exception of the polar regions and some isolated islands, bats are found nearly everywhere. Highly adaptable and able to fill ecological niches, today there are more than 1,300 bat species found worldwide, with 45 species normally found in the United States and a few more that show up on occasion or accidentally.

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BIG BROWN BAT (Eptesicus fuscus)
Vespertilionidae family

Description: Medium- to large-size bats that are light to dark brown in color. The tail is mostly enclosed by the tail membrane. Broad head and nose; the tragus is short, blunt, and slightly curved. The ears, nose, and flight membranes are black.

Weight: 0.5–0.7 ounce (14–21 grams)

Range: Canada and south throughout the U.S. but usually absent in southern Florida and central Texas

Habitat, Roosts, and Migration: Found in various habitats, from desert to mountains and everything in between. Closely associated with humans, they are probably the most recognized bat species. They roost in attics, barns, wooden man-made structures, under bridges, and in mines and caves.

Diet: Flying ants, beetles, termites, flies, mosquitoes, and other insects

Reproduction: Breeding usually occurs in the fall, but females store sperm until they ovulate in spring. One pup is born in the summer; the young bats can fly within a month.

Conservation Status: Big brown bat populations are stable; they are widely distributed in the U.S.

Fun Fact: Big brown bats have a heart rate of 900–1,000 beats per minute during flight.

Edition details

• Publisher: Adventure Publications
• Publication date: 2019
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1591938430
• ISBN 13: 9781591938439
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 128