How many bats are there in the world

Male and female bats meet at hibernation sites, called hibernacula, where they breed. It's not clear how the bats choose their mates, Altringham said, but it may be that females seek out the most agile males. During the swarming event, breeding pairs will go off to secluded spots in the cave to mate in private. Researchers have found that female short-nosed fruit bats perform oral sex on their mates to prolong the act; male Indian flying foxes do the same thing to females.

Mating occurs in the late summer and early autumn, and the females store the males' sperm until the next spring. A pregnant female will carry her young for a gestation period of 40 days to six months. Then, she will give birth to one baby, called a pup.

The pup will weigh about one-fourth as much as its mother at birth. Young bats drink milk from their mothers to survive, like other mammals. The mothers and pups stay in groups separate from the males.

Mothers will help take care of other pups until the pups are old enough to care for themselves. Many bat species around the world are threatened with extinction. The Red List from the International Union for Conservation of Nature identifies more than species as endangered, vulnerable or "near threatened. Bulmer's fruit bat is the world's most endangered bat.

It's only found in one cave in Papua New Guinea. According to the Red List, there are only around to individuals left. A fungus that causes a disease called white-nose syndrome has devastated bats in North America. This white, powdery-looking fungus, a member of a group of cold-loving fungi called Geomyces , coats the muzzles, ears and wings of bats and has caused the death of hundreds of thousands of the animals in the northeastern United States.

While the effects of white-nose syndrome have decimated bat populations, anti-fungal microbes found in soil could provide a ray of hope for North America's beleaguered bats, researchers recently reported. Bats are recognized by many as flying disease carriers and there's good reason for that. In , Live Science reported that bats act as reservoirs for more than 60 different viruses that can infect humans. And in , a study published in the journal Nature found that bats carry significantly more viruses than any other mammal species on planet.

Their habitats and food sources also tend to overlap with humans, making contact more likely. But getting rid of bats is not the way to avoid disease. Megabats primarily feed on fruits and are less specialized. Flying Foxes are the largest of all bat species with wings that span about five to six feet and weighing up to 2. Microbats, on the other hand, are highly specialized and are echolocating. The smallest of the bats is the Kittis hog-nosed bat, weighing about Bats are the only mammals that are able to maintain a sustained flight.

The rest of the bat population mainly feeds on fruits. Few of the bat population feed on animals. There exist also the vampire bats that feed on blood. Most of the bat species of Earth are nocturnal. There are over million Mexican free-tailed bats in the U. Every night from spring through autumn, the bats wow visitors as they swarm out of the caves in a whirling funnel to find water and food.

These bats are strong, fast flyers -- reaching speeds of up to 60 miles per hour , flying as far as 50 miles from their roosts and in some cases as high as 10, feet in the air.

While some of these bats hibernate, most migrate to Mexico for winter. This medium-sized bat can be found in Kentucky, North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia , where it inhabits caves year round. In the early spring, females congregate in maternity colonies in the caves' warm areas and each give birth to a single pup. Then they can start going out on their own, using their highly efficient sonar to eat insects while flying through the air.

While the fungus that caused white-nose syndrome has been found in the caves where they live, this species has yet to contract the disease. Even slight disturbances can cause Virginia big-eared bats to leave caves, abandon young and force bats to use valuable energy reserves needed to survive hibernation.

Do your part to protect them by not entering caves during winter, and check out more ways to be friends to bats. In addition to its nose, this bat is easy to recognize because of its large ears and grayish to dark brown fur. While other bats hibernate or migrate, the California leaf-nosed is active all year. It roosts in warmer caves and mines during the day and spends the night hunting. Its hearing is so acute that it can detect noises as faint as the footstep of a cricket!

The Mariana fruit bat -- also called the flying fox -- is one of the largest bats found in the United States. It measures in at 7. This bat has dark fur , and its shoulders and neck are gold to pale brown in color.

Its diet consists of mostly fruit along with the occasional flower and leaves , and while it eats, it fertilizes fruits and nuts. The flying fox spends much of its day sleeping, and it can be seen hanging upside down on trees in the forest. Why do they sleep in this position? Hanging upside down has benefits for bats -- special tendons in their feet allow them to be relaxed and conserve energy, and this position allows for easy takeoff.

While found throughout the Eastern United States, more than half of their population hibernates in the caves in Southern Indiana. Do your part to help bats by building a bat house. These tiny structures are a win for both bats and humans.

They can hold up to bats, providing them with much need roosts while the bats keep the pests at bay around your house. Check out some of our favorite bat species found in the U. This one is covered in pollen after a busy night of drinking nectar.