On the evening of August 28, a large number of bats suddenly appeared in the sky of Deyang, Sichuan, and local witnesses were also frightened when they saw such a scene, shouting "so scary, a lot of bats." So why are there bats popping up? Is the appearance of these bats a sign?
As the only mammal on Earth that can actually fly into the sky, bats have been alive on Earth for 52 million years. There are more than 1,400 species of bats, and they account for 20% of mammals, ranking second, and are distributed all over the world.
Bats are nocturnal animals that lie diurnal and nocturnal. Especially in the summer, they are very active at night, come out in the evening to forage, and go back to sleep the next morning, they will live under the eaves and crevices of human houses, and some live in various caves. In the winter, bats in some places will hibernate, and bats in some places will migrate to the south for winter.
Although the light is poor at night, bats can fly safely and can also catch insects for food, thanks to their built-in sonar positioning system.
Bats generally emit ultrasonic waves with frequencies above 20 KHz, which are reflected back by prey or objects, and they can accurately know the location of the reflectors after receiving them. Bats have an unusually developed sense of hearing, and faint echoes can be discerned from background noise.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="17" >Why do bats fly in swarms? </h1>
Bats usually move in groups, sometimes tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of bats, and they have complex social habits. Bats appear in large numbers in the first place, and there are many possible reasons.
Bats have many predators, including birds of prey such as owls, various snakes. They appear in droves, probably to confuse predators waiting to ambush them. Larger populations of bats tend to come out earlier, and the larger the population, the safer they are.
Bats fly in flocks, and they communicate with each other to convey information about their prey. If a bat had spotted a feeding area the night before, such as a place where flocks of flying insects had appeared, it was possible to summon a large number of its kind to hunt together.
Summer is also the breeding season for bats, especially at the end of summer. Whenever this time comes, bats living in different habitats will gather for the annual breeding extravaganza, with males using various methods to attract the attention of females.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" Data-track="11" Is there any sign that a large number of bats appear >? </h1>
As mentioned above, the presence of bats in large numbers does not mean that something bad will happen, it is most likely just a natural phenomenon. In June 2019, there were also reports of swarms of bats in the sky (initially thought to be swallows) in Yibin, Sichuan Province, and earthquake experts responded that bats are active at this time of year and cannot blindly associate this phenomenon with disasters.
In addition, if human activities destroy bat habitat, this will also cause a large number of bats to crash everywhere. At the turn of 2019 and 2020, Australia saw its worst wildfires in history, burning large amounts of forest. Scientists estimate that as many as 3 billion animals have been killed in wildfires, including the giant bat, the fox bat, which can have a wingspan of more than 90 centimeters and a longest of 1.5 meters.
There are also many bats that have escaped, and they have nowhere to go, so they can only fly to the towns where humans live. It is estimated that as many as 600,000 bats poured into the city at that time, and the black pressure flew all over the sky. A helicopter that came to the rescue was besieged by bats and could not land at its destination. Many people are worried about contact with bats, so they have to close the doors and windows and hide in their homes.
In addition to humans directly invading bat habitats, in recent years, global warming has triggered climate change, leading to a more prone to extreme weather, which can also make many animals, including bats, face huge survival challenges. In order to reduce the contact between humans and bats and avoid unknown hazards, we humans have a lot to do.