Bats: Incredibly Designed Creatures

Bats often make people fearful, but they are incredibly designed creatures of God. They have amazing features that help them to navigate and thrive in their environments.

AMAZING ANIMALS

9/13/20248 min read

Bats: Are they really part of God's design?

A few days ago, I was getting ready to do my morning Bible reading and I had quite a surprise. I groggily walked into our living room, coffee cup in hand, tired from a long week. I plopped down into our recliner and switched on the lamp. Then, I caught a swoosh of movement out of the corner of my eye. I looked closer and saw it again. I kept staring, trying to figure out what I was seeing when it hit me (not literally)...it was a bat! Now, some people may think this is not a big deal, and really...I get it. Bats are important to our ecosystem, they are generally not going to hurt us, etc. But at 6:00 in the morning, in my tired state, and with me not knowing where the bat was going to swoop next, it sure felt like a big deal!

We would get bats in my house when I was growing up, and I have memories of my family getting rid of them. Some are funny...like a neighbor coming over with a laundry basket and a tennis racket, trying to capture the bat to release it back outside. Some are not funny...like visiting my childhood home as an adult, and waking up to a swooping bat while my toddler lay next to me in the bed, then trying to get out of the room and having it run smack into my chest.

So, with these memories in mind, I went running downstairs calling for my husband to help me. He comes up and we must have been quite a sight. We both had blankets up and were trying to push the bat toward the open slider door. It would swoop down and he'd inch closer, trying to move it toward the opening. It would swoop toward me, and I'd scream, "Don't you come near me!" and duck backward. I was not much help! But, eventually, the bat made its way back outside, and we quickly shut the door and breathed a sigh of relief.

All this got me thinking about bats. I truly believe that God's fingerprints and creativity are seen in all living creatures. But, did I believe that was really true of a bat? It made me dig into learning more about bats and their design. Here is what I learned!

Bats are the only mammals that can fly.

One special characteristic that all bats have is that they are the only mammals in creation that can fly. Some say the flying squirrel is a mammal and it can fly, but flying squirrels don't actually fly. They glide through the air. Bats actually can perform true flight. This is due to the amazing design of their wings. Bats have bones that extend and spread out in their wing. It is kind of like the bones of your hand...hold it out in front of you and spread your fingers apart. The bones in a bat's wings are similarly spread out. In fact, they are part of the order Chiroptera which actually means "hand wing." On their wings, there is a layer of very thin skin between each bone. Bats can move the joints in these wing bones, which allows them to have a high degree of maneuverability as they fly. Also, they have a claw that extends out of their wing. This little claw helps them as they climb.

Bats use echolocation.

The way that some bats navigate their environment is absolutely incredible. Many microbats use echolocation. This means they emit sound waves from their bodies. These sound waves are often ultrasonic, meaning they are in a frequency that is too high for humans to hear. As those sound waves travel outward from the bat, they hit objects in the environment. The sound wave bounces back after hitting an object. The bat can sense these reflected sound waves, and they use the information to map out the area in front of them.

As I was reading more about echolocation, I learned that bats' bodies are designed in a way to make echolocation possible. For example, some bats send out intermittent sound waves. These waves can be high in intensity. It varies by species. Some calls are not intense (like a human whisper), but others can match the intensity of a jet engine! However, the bat's body has an amazing way of protecting itself from damage! Their ear muscles contract when the bat is emitting the sound wave. This protects the sensitive ears. However, after the intermittent call is produced, the ear muscles relax, and the bats are able to hear the echo of the reflected waves. Here is another example. Some bats produce continuous calls, rather than intermittent ones. You may think...then how does it protect its ears? Well, the sound that these bats emit is outside of their own hearing range (much like the sounds that bats make are outside of human hearing range). So, the bats can't hear the calls as they are emitted. However, as the sound waves hit objects and bounce back, they change in frequency and bats ARE able to hear those returning, reflected sound waves. They use the information from them to map out the environment. Studying bats' use of echolocation has led to advancements like sonar and technologies to help the blind. Amazing!

Bats are amazing pollinators and seed spreaders.

When you think of bats, an image of a pollinator may not be the first thing that pops into your mind. However, bats truly are incredible pollinators! In fact, hundreds of fruit species depend upon bats. They need bats to help spread their pollen. Many bat species living in the tropical rainforest areas feed on plant nectar. As they feed on the nectar, pollen sticks to their bodies. When they fly to another plant to feed on more nectar, they transfer some of that pollen to the new plant. This spreading of pollen allows plants to develop new seeds and ultimately, to produce new plants. Without bats, this wouldn't happen! Some major crops including bananas, mangoes, cashews, and figs are heavily dependent upon bat pollination.

Bats keep pesky insects away.

This is one of my very favorite benefits of having bats around. They help get rid of pesky insects! Many bats are insectivores, meaning they eat insects for their diet. They fly around at night, feeding on these insects, which helps to keep the populations down. In fact, the little brown bat (common in North America) can eat up to 1,200 mosquitoes per HOUR! Many bats can eat their weight in insects every night. Incredible!

Bats have an amazing body design.

I've already mentioned the amazing design of the bat wing, but there are other incredible features of a bat body's design. Have you ever wondered why or how bats hang upside down as they roost? Well, part of this has to do with their body design. Bats have small hind legs, which makes it hard for them to gain speed and launch into the air from the ground. So, instead, they hang upside down and launch into flight after falling from their roosting spot. Additionally, their body design allows them to roost upside-down almost effortlessly! As bats hang upside-down, they do not have to clench their muscles to hang onto the branch (or whatever they are hanging from). Instead, a bat will simply find its roosting spot and open its claws. In order to grip the surface, it simply lets its body relax. The weight from its upper body pulls downward due to gravity. This downward force causes the tendons attached to its claws to clench. It can then roost effortlessly, without expending energy to keep its claws clenched around the roosting point.

Many people think that bats are blind, but this is not true. Many can see quite well. In fact, many bat species use information from sight along WITH information from echolocation to truly see their environment. Their sight allows them to look for food in low-light conditions, and their echolocation allows them to look for food in dark conditions. So, the next time you hear someone say "blind as a bat" you'll know that this isn't really true!

Bats' body design has remained consistent throughout the ages. In fact, as scientists compare fossils from ancient bats to bats of today, they look relatively the same. No missing links or transitional forms have been found in the fossil record to suggest that there is a transitional animal between ancient creatures and today's bats. The bats of today are the same as the bats that were created by God at the beginning. They were created with purpose and with intentional design. And, they really are beneficial to our environment. I am going to try to remember that the next time I see one up close!

There is incredible variety in bat species!

When I think of a bat, I tend to get one picture in my mind. However, there are actually many, many species of bats! If fact, there are over 1400 species of bats, and they are found on every continent except Antarctica. Bats actually make up about 20% of the mammal population in the world. Bats can range in size from less than an inch to having a wingspan of over five feet. I cannot imagine coming across a bat that large! There are two main types of bats: microbats and megabats. Microbats are more common than megabats. They are usually smaller (hence the name), but there are instances of microbats being larger than megabats. Microbats are known for using echolocation to find their food. They typically eat insects, but some do eat fruit, fish, nectar, or blood. Megabats typically feed on fruit and nectar. What a wide variety! Isn't that incredible?

References:

Baird, C. S. (2013, April 9). Why are bats blind? | Science Questions with Surprising Answers. West Texas A&M University. Retrieved September 15, 2024, from https://www.wtamu.edu/~cbaird/sq/2013/04/09/why-are-bats-blind/

Bat Fact Sheet | Blog | Nature. (2021, July 6). PBS. Retrieved September 15, 2024, from https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/blog/bat-fact-sheet/

Cserhati, M. (2021, January 18). Bats. Creation Ministries International. Retrieved September 15, 2024, from https://creation.com/wonderful-world-of-bats

Harris, T., & Conger, C. (n.d.). How Bats Work | HowStuffWorks. Animals | HowStuffWorks. Retrieved September 15, 2024, from https://animals.howstuffworks.com/mammals/bat.htm

10 brilliant bat facts for kids. (n.d.). National Geographic Kids. Retrieved September 15, 2024, from https://www.natgeokids.com/uk/discover/animals/general-animals/bat-facts/

13 Awesome Facts About Bats. (n.d.). U.S. Department of the Interior. Retrieved September 15, 2024, from https://www.doi.gov/blog/13-facts-about-bats