Diet

Bats eat a variety of different foods, corresponding with where they live. There are many different things that a bat could eat, some of these things being;

  1. fruit
  2. farm animal blood
  3. insects
  4. nectar
  5. seeds

Let's take a closer look at a bat's diet.

Insectivores

Insectivores are bats that eat insects. Some species of bats that eat insects are;

Insectivore
By Gilles San Martin

Frugivores

Frugivores are bats that eat fruit and seeds. Some species that eat only fruit are;

Fruit Bat
By Bernard DUPONT

Here is a video of a rescued baby fruit bat eating a banana!

Nectarivores

These bats eat (or drink) nectar. One species of these bats are the long-tongued nectar bat.

Nectar Bat
Wikipedia CC-0

Vampire Bats

These bats drink blood. But, do not worry! They only drink the blood of farm animals like cows and pigs. They do not kill or even harm the animals they get their nutrients from. Most don't even know it ever happened. Some species of vampire bat are;

Vampire Bat
By Oasalehm CC-BY SA

Fishing

Some bats even eat fish! They go to nearby bodies of water at night and use their sharp claws* to grab the fish out of the water. Some species of fishing bats are the Bulldog bat and Myotis vivesi.

Here is a video of a real bat fishing.

Rodents and others

Very few bats eat rodents like mice and rats, but their are some out there. Some bats also eat amphbians like frogs and salamanders. One species that eats these things are Fringe-lipped bats.

* only bats that eat fish have these specially adapted claws.

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