Bats are mammals – they have fur, nurse their pups with milk and are warm-blooded

Bats are the only mammals that can fly

There are approximately 1,100 species around the world

A bat's wings are much like a human hand, with a thumb and four fingers. They have a thin layer of skin (membrane) that stretches across these fingers to create the wing

Bats can use their wings to grip things – they can wrap them around pieces of fruit to hold them while they are eating

Different species of bats eat different things, but insects and fruit are the most popular dishes

Bats are nocturnal, which means that they are active at night or at dusk, and sleep (hanging upside-down!) in caves or treetops during the day

Most species hibernate during the winter as there are few species of insect around when it's cold

Seeing as they do most of their hunting at night, bats use sonar to find their way around. This means that they make a high-pitched noise and listen for the echo to figure out how far away an object is, and its shape and size – this is called echolation

Bats have excellent hearing and their ears are often very large compared to the rest of their bodies

Most species are very sociable and live in big colonies, sleeping huddled together

Bats sleep upside-down so they can quickly spread their wings and fly off if they need to. If they hung by their thumbs they would have to let go first!

Female bats usually only have one baby bat (pup) a year

 

Hungry for more bat facts? Visit the Bat Conservation Trust or see them for real at ZSL London Zoo