Have you ever heard of the biggest bat in the world? It sounds pretty scary, but for those who are not afraid of these very unsympathetic mammals, this article has been created. We will give only real facts about the largest bats ever found and tell you more about their lifestyle.
Wing, mouse or fox?
Usually in our regions there are small representatives of these mammals - no more than seven to eight centimeters in length and with a wingspan of about twenty centimeters. But there are also known cases of encountering truly giant bats. The body length of such animals is slightly less than half a meter, and their wingspan is almost two meters. Birds or bats are the most popular names for the largest bats. They began to call them foxes because of the very fox-like muzzle, as is noticeable in the photo of the largest bat. Obvious resemblance, isn't it?
The color of the hair on the head is reddish, and on the back it is dark ashen, with slightly noticeable stripes of white color. The eyes of the flying fox are large, round in shape and have a rich black color.
Lifestyle
We all know that ordinary bats use echolocation for orientation. But the winged birds, although they are representatives of the same bats, are oriented in space with the help of sight and smell. The largest bats, despite their formidable appearance, are not predators at all. Their diet consists of fruits, vegetables and herbaceous plants - which is sometimes a headache for many farmers. After all, these animals sometimes become a serious threat to the entire fruit crop. It is very rare to find winged birds that feed on insects.
There is a similarity of winged bats with ordinary bats - nocturnal lifestyle. During the day, they hide in the shade of trees or in caves, hanging downside down and holding tenacious claws on branches. The largest bats, like regular bats, gather in large flocks and rarely exist singly. They even sleep, clinging tightly to each other, and sometimes on top of each other.
More recently, the winged were endangered. This is not surprising. After all, to take out and raise offspring for these animals is not an easy task. For a year, a flying fox can produce only one cub, which he carries about six months. The first two months of life, the little winged wing spends time without interruption with his mother, who gradually teaches him to fly and prepares for adulthood.
Yes, and people, once having tasted their meat, began to actively hunt them. But not so long ago, it was possible to restore the population of these animals. Now their only threat is snakes and birds of prey.
The biggest bat (Peru)
In 2012, the Peruvian military managed not only to track down, but also to catch a gigantic animal, which locals considered chupacabra. There is an opinion that this was not the largest bat, but the common flying fox in these places from the winged family. For several years there have been terrible attacks on pets and even on people. For example, in 2010, more than twenty people suffered from outbreaks of bats due to rabies outbreaks. And for the whole year about four thousand complaints were recorded about the bites of these bloodsuckers. It remains only a mystery that led to Peru this terrible animal, whose habitat is the subtropical zone. Namely - Asia, Africa and Oceania.
False vampire
If everything is clear with winged foxes and flying foxes, then how do you figure out that a few more mammals are considered a giant bat? A false vampire, she is also an Australian megaderm - all this is about a bat animal, whose height is about thirteen centimeters, and the wingspan is not less than half a meter. It is this mammal that is today considered the largest bat in the New World. Her weight is quite small - only one hundred and ninety grams.
But the Americans have their own mouse-record holder. Its length is exactly thirteen and a half centimeters, of which eight are only the body, excluding the tail. The wingspan of the eumops (as they call this amazing animal) is almost sixty centimeters, and the weight is not more than seventy grams. Eumops is also called a mustachioed bulldog from the bat family. A rather funny name is justified by the appearance of this bats.