10/15/2026
Bats are some of the most iconic symbols of spooky season, but do they really deserve their sinister reputation? Stan is here to shed some light on our nocturnal neighbors and share a few (not so) spooky bat facts for this month's "Stan Fact!"
“Rats with wings? Nope! Bats are in their own separate order of mammals called Chiroptera, which means ‘hand-wing’. In fact, they’re the only mammals capable of true flight! Bats are one of the most diverse groups of mammals, second only to rodents as far as number of species. They’ve been seen all around the globe except for Antarctica and have been around for at least 55 million years!
"Bats play an important role in the ecosystem as pollinators and pest control. Their diets are extremely varied – some only eat fruit, pollen, or nectar, many eat insects (like mosquitos!), and some are moth, frog, or even fish specialists! Since most are nocturnal, many rely on echolocation to hunt and navigate. That’s why they have those big ears and sometimes scrungly-looking faces to better pick up sound waves bouncing back at them.
"And yes, some exclusively eat blood. But out of the 1,400 species worldwide, only 3 of them feed on blood and only 1 of those species prefers mammal blood. And unless you’re a cow or a sheep living in South or Central America, it’s extremely unlikely you’ll ever get bitten by one. The common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) is highly social, and they’ve been known to share food with weak or sick members of their colony who are unable to go out and forage for themselves. Their saliva contains an anticoagulant to prevent blood from clotting while they’re having a drink, and this has been used in medical research to help develop new medications for stroke patients!
"So are bats really that spooky? Nah – well, unless you’re a mosquito, a moth, a small fish, a South American cow, or a piece of delicious fruit.”
Image Credit: "Haeckel Chiroptera," 1904, via Wikimedia Commons
