In the two previous issues we have considered some of the amazing bats found in various parts of the world. There are about a thousand varieties, every one intensely interesting, but of course we can only briefly consider a few. In addition to those mentioned already, here are a few more: The Panamanian frog-eating bat has no difficulty hunting its prey on the darkest of nights. A frog sitting on a log or rock can’t help croaking occasionally and usually plops safely into the water if its croak attracts an enemy. But when a bat’s sonar system reacts to such a noise, the bat is usually too fast for the frog, attacking it head-on with wide-open mouth and long-fingered hands snatching it away for a good meal.
Many folks think the black-faced fruit bat is ugly and dangerous. But when seen straight-on with its toothy mouth open and big black eyes shining, it looks like it wants to be friends. Actually, it isn’t harmful to people at all.
Another, the leaf-nosed bat has unusual flaps of skin on its face that are responsible for its name. These seem to be helpful in bringing in the sonar rebounds that help it find its way, as well as capturing insects.
There are many flowering plants that depend entirely on bats for pollination in order to bear fruit and reproduce themselves. If these plants were to disappear, the bats themselves would soon die out without their nectar and pollen. In other words, they are dependent on each other and it works out beautifully, just as the Creator designed it.
In Mexico the Sanborn’s long-nosed bat has an extra-long red tongue for gathering nectar and pollen. The end of its stubby nose has an odd piece which looks like a little flag sticking straight up about two inches. Its principal source of food is nectar and pollen from a plant called agave. This food is very high in acid and most bats couldn’t handle it, but the Creator has provided the long-nosed with special stomach glands to handle the acid. Sorry to say, much of the area in Mexico where the agave plant grows is being destroyed, so the future does not look very good for this particular bat.
If you’d like to learn more about these interesting little animals, your school or local library has books available for you.
Let us remember that the Lord God who created bats looks on them at all times, and as our opening Bible verse tells us, He is looking on each of us, too. How nice it is to try to be pleasing to Him in all that we do.
ML-09/29/1991