Category: Mammals
This species is a rare “mega-bat,” one of the largest species of bats in the world. They are herbivores with a keen sense of sight and smell for finding food – with the exception of one species, they do not use echolocation. They roost mostly in trees and shrubs and are sometimes unpopular with orchard owners due to their fruit-eating ways. Fruit-eating bats such as these aid in the distribution of plants by spreading their seeds as well as serving as pollinators.
Bats: The Only True-Flying Mammal
Bats, the only mammal capable of true flight, are not blind - their eyes are just fine, thank you very much. But instead of eyes, most bats rely on an incredibly fine-tuned sense of hearing when they fly and hunt. Using a technique called echolocation, they emit high-pitched calls (usually above the range of human hearing), using the echos that are reflected back to them as a means of navigation and locating objects. The ears, auditory cortex, and (in a few cases) even noses of some bats are extraordinarily specialized for echolocation; there are even bats that have adapted the frequency of their calls to frequencies above or below what their favorite prey can hear!
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