Bats Are Unique in Several Ways

Bats are among the most amazing creatures. The August 2024 issue of National Geographic was devoted to exploring research into all that bats can do and how they do it. Bats are unique in several ways.

There are over 1400 species of bats, ranging in size from the bumblebee bat, which weighs less than an ounce, to the flying fox, a fruit bat with a wingspan of nearly six feet and weighing up to three pounds. One-fifth of all mammal species on Earth are bats, and bats do many things that benefit humans. They consume mosquitoes and agricultural pests and are primary pollinators for bananas, mangoes, avocados, and durians (an important Asian fruit).

Bat wings are made of skin stretched on light bones with many joints, with muscles embedded in the skin. By comparison, bird wings have three joints. Bat wings have vast numbers of tiny hairs that sense airflow. Attempting to develop a drone in such a small space has turned out to be incredibly difficult. The quadcopter drones in widespread use can’t rival the flight of a bat in dark places.

Bats are unique in their long life expectancy and disease resistance. They can live for decades and rarely get cancers. They carry several viruses but are not affected by them. Some researchers suggested that COVID-19 jumped from bats to humans. Research shows that as bats age, their DNA is repaired, and scientists are studying this repair and immune activity.

It is interesting that the Bible doesn’t say much about bats. In Leviticus and Deuteronomy, bats are among the flying creatures God told the Israelites not to eat, a point that has interesting connections to viruses they can carry. Bats are unique and a critical part of the ecosystem that God designed. The more we understand about them, the more we see the hand of God in their creation. These small creatures are essential to God’s ecosystem and to us.

— John N. Clayton © 2024

Reference: National Geographic for August 2024, pages 16-49