Why care about bats?
There are over 1,000 different species of bats worldwide and they make up about one fifth of all mammal species. They are important natural pollinators of such plants as mango, banana, and cashews. Fruit-eating bats act as seed dispersers and are very important in rain forest regeneration. They spread over half of the initial seeds in a cleared rain forest. Bats are an important part of most natural systems: They act as natural biological controls, keeping in check nocturnal insects, including many of the worst agricultural pests, as well as those annoying to man. For example, 70% of all the bats in the world eat insects, and many of them use echolocation to find food and move around in the dark. Almost any insect that is active at night can be food for a bat, including moths, beetles, flies, crickets, gnats, mayflies, wasps, and mosquitoes. Many small insect-eating bats can eat more than 1,000 mosquito-sized insects in one hour. Another way to look at it is an individual bat can eat u
