To work on our bat project we will be using the internet

Bats

Bats are wonderful creatures! No other animal has gotten the bad reputation bats have. These tiny, shy creatures of the night have only a few things they like to do in life. Eat, sleep and take care of their babies.

Tales of bad bats have ruled the world for centuries. Mostly because of the findings of a few people who exaggerated the bat habits. They are so unlike us in habits that they seem real weird or scary. However, bats are actually more like you than you think. They have more traits in common with you than they do with mice or birds. They are a mammal just like you.

To work on our bat project we will be using the internet. You will be using a specific site to begin with. This site will help you with your research.

Megabats http://www.tooter4kids.com/Bats/megabats.htm

http://www.arlington.k12.ma.us/departments/technology/integration/k-5units/batbuddies/megafacts.htm

Microbats http://www.arlington.k12.ma.us/departments/technology/integration/k-5units/batbuddies/microfacts.htm

Megabats and microbats compaired http://www.debbiesthemes.com/forbes/bats/bat_outline.html

Curious Facts

Bats are unique in the animal kingdom because they are the only mammals to have evolved true flight.

Most bats also possess a system of acoustic orientation, often called "bat radar," but technically known as echolocation.

There are almost 1000 species of bats worldwide, representing 1/4 of all mammals.

Bats nurse their pups just like other mammals do.

Nearly all bats that live in the United States feed on insects.

Vampire bats don't suck blood. They make a small incision and lap up the blood of their hosts.

In some parts of the world, bats take the place of bees in pollinating plants.

Little brown bats have life spans that may exceed 32 years.

A bat will eat half its weight in insects in a single night.

The Bumblebee Bat with a 6-inch wing span is the world’s smallest bat.

The Flying Fox, with a wingspan of 78 inches, is the world’s largest.

Fewer people have died from bat rabies during the past 40 years than have died from dog bites or bee stings in a single year.

More Facts

http://www.arlington.k12.ma.us/departments/technology/integration/k-5units/batbuddies/day_one.htm

During flight the bat extends its legs outward to expand the span of its wing membrane.
Bats need more water than do other mammals of the same size because they lose a lot of moisture through their wings.
The largest bat in the world is a flying fox called the Kalong, which has a wingspan of nearly five feet.
One reason that bats roost upside down is so they can take flight easily--by simply letting go with their feet.
The flying fox is a strong swimmer and crosses rivers using its wings as flippers.
Fruit-eating bats pollinate flowers and distribute their seeds.
Flying foxes sometimes drink sea water, possibly to obtain minerals absent from their sugary diet.

Providing bat houses can help build the populations of many valuable bat species. Providing houses furnishes places for bats to roost, hibernate and raise young, in addition to, and when the natural sites are not available.
Little Brown Bats, while hibernating can reduce their heart rate to 20 beats per minute and can stop breathing for 48 minutes at a time. Little Brown Bats can hibernate for more than seven months if left undisturbed.
Desert eco systems rely on nectar feeding bats as primary pollinators of giant cacti.
A nursing little brown bat mother can eat more than her body weight nightly (up to 4,500 insects).
Less than 1% of bats contract rabies, and usually bite in self defense.
A mother Mexican Free-tailed Bat can produce more than five times as much milk as an average Holstein cow.
Almost 40% of American bat species are threatened or endangered.
The loss of bats contributes to an imbalance in nature that helps cause increases in use of toxic pesticides that threaten our heath and environment.

Special pages about specific bats

Fruit bat
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/mammals/bat/Fruitbatcoloring.shtml
Vampire Bat
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/mammals/bat/Vbatcoloring.shtml
Indiana Bat
http://endangered.fws.gov/i/a/saa08.html
Flying Fox
http://www.cherryweb.com/msippel/flyingfoxbat.html
Hognosed bats/Bumblebee bat
http://www.cs.pdx.edu/~timm/dm/bumblebee.html
Tent-making bats
http://www.bsrsi.msu.edu/rfrc/tour/slide5.html
http://www.szgdocent.org/ff/f-battnt.htm
Little Brown bats
http://yahooligans.yahoo.com/content/animals/species/3888.html
http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/distr/mammals/mammals/brownbat.htm
http://www.expage.com/page/mrsganimalbat
http://www.ozane.com/profiles/littlebrownbat.html

Several bats
http://www.batconservation.org/content/meetourbats/meetourbats.htm

http://www.towson.edu/csme/mctp/StudentProjects/BatInfo/bats.htm

Just for the batty fun of it.
http://members.aol.com/bats4kids2/boxpage1.htm

Mother bats and babies/ Echolocation explained http://www.arlington.k12.ma.us/departments/technology/integration/k-5units/batbuddies/day_three.htm

Echolocation explained http://members.aol.com/bats4kids/echo.htm
Foods http://www.arlington.k12.ma.us/departments/technology/integration/k-5units/batbuddies/day_four.htm

Bat calendar http://www.arlington.k12.ma.us/departments/technology/integration/k-5units/batbuddies/Bat%20calendar.htm

Bat quiz http://www.arlington.k12.ma.us/departments/technology/integration/k-5units/batbuddies/day_five.htm

Report time http://www.arlington.k12.ma.us/departments/technology/integration/k-5units/batbuddies/bats_research_page.htm

Whales have calves,
Cats have kittens,
Bears have cubs,
Bats have bittens,
Swans have cygnets,
Seals have puppies,
But guppies just have
little guppies.