You have probably seen bats flying at dusk. They suddenly appear on summer evenings, when other flying creatures have settled down for the night. However, they are not a common sight in Norway, because there aren't that many ...
Animals have many characteristics that we can learn and gain knowledge from, and one example is echolocation, which bats have used for over 50 million years to navigate in the dark. Bats emit sounds at ultrasonic frequencies that humans are unable to hear, and they navigate by using the echoes they pick up from these sounds. Ultrasound was discovered in part through studies involving bats.
There are 1,439 known species of bat in the world. The smallest weigh just 2 grams, and the largest weigh 1.5 kilograms and have a wingspan of 1.5 meters. Bats are the only mammal that can fly, and some species of free-tailed bats can fly at speeds of up to 100 km per hour.
This diverse creature is found almost everywhere in the world and constitutes 20 percent of all mammal species. Most species of bat are found around the equator, and two areas are particularly rich in bats: the Amazon and the islands between Asia and Australia. The further north and south you go, the fewer species there are.
How do they survive the cold winters in Norway?
Seventy percent of bat species feed on insects, but some species feed mainly on plants, and others eat small animals such as frogs, mice and lizards.
This brown long-eared bat is one of few species that can survive Norway's long cold winters. Credit: Rune Sørås
Bat wings have such distinctive patterns that individuals can be easily identified without having to tag them or put rings on them, as is done with birds. Credit: Rune Sørås