BATS: OUR WINGED MAMMALS - Desert Animal Companions

BATS: OUR WINGED

MAMMALS

Jaa' aban¶: Naaldlooshii Dah Yikahj¶

Bit’a’ Hºlºn¶g¶¶

BATS: OUR WINGED MAMMALS

Jaa' aban¶: Naaldlooshii Dah Yikahj¶Bit’a’ Hºlºn¶g¶¶

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with SSSSPPPPEEEECCCCIIIIAAAALLLL AAAAPPPPPPPPRRRREEEECCCCIIIIAAAATTTTIIIIOOOONNNN to:_______________________________________________________________CCCChhhhiiiinnnnlllleeee CCCCuuuurrrrrrrriiiiccccuuuulllluuuummmm CCCCeeeennnntttteeeerrrrGloria Means Rudy BegayPatrick Begay

DDDDeeeeaaaannnn CCCC.... JJJJaaaacccckkkkssssoooonnnn CCCCeeeennnntttteeeerrrr for Navajo Culture and Studies Marjorie Thomas Darlene RedhairPeter Thomas

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CCCCuuuullllttttuuuurrrreeee TTTTeeeeaaaacccchhhheeeerrrrssssLorraine BegayPat Denny

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copyright @ October 15, 1995 all rights reserved Library of Congress Card # ISBN ICHA 90-429-041-8

Bats: Jaa' aban¶ Naaldlooshii dah yikahj¶ bit’a’ hºlºn¶g¶¶ 2

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1. Goal: To help educate students and adults alike about the benefits of bats, and detailing the incredible good these gentle creatures do in nature.

Problem Statement: Some students and grown-ups have a misconception about the bat. Children from all cultures have been observed knocking bats down from their roosting places, killing them unjustly, fearing and misunderstanding them. Bats help us in many ways. Without the bats help, we would have so many bugs that it would be very uncomfortable to go out of doors.

2. Measurable behavioral objectives: Students will demonstrate understanding of the concept visually, in an oral text, and written where applicable. (age consideration)

3. Specific strategies which focus upon student needs: Leading questions that utilize the five senses. For example: Is a bat good or is it evil? Can bats help us? If so, how do they do this? What does a bat eat? Would a bat make a good pet? Can bats carry disease? Why do you think a cartoon character was named “Batman”? etc.

4. Awareness or readiness level: Students will respond to an appropriate question and answer at any age.

5. Specific plan: (materials needed): Background paper, construction paper, scissors, pushpins, materials to be displayed, pencils. Prepare your classroom for a unit on bats.

6. Student practice: (student activities) Start a discussion about bats. Ask the students if they can name some of the types of insects that a bat might eat. Have students brainstorm as many insects as they can think of that a bat might eat. Write down the names of these insects and place on the bulletin board, either around the edges or as a list. In widening half circles, draw the echolocation coming from the bat towards the insects.

Place the picture of the bat in the middle of the board. On the top of the picture of the bat, write:

1. The bat is a warm-blooded mammal. 2. A bat has smooth skin that covers its wings, and the rest of its body is covered with fur.


3. A bat feeds its young with milk from its body. 4. A bat can fly.

Start a discussion : Without the help of bats would there be more insects? Should people knock bats down if they see them sleeping during the day? Why do you think people might want to do this? What might happen if a bat defends its territory and bites someone? Do bats get tangled in hair or pull off ears? Tell them that in other cultures, some myths about bats were believed, such as: a bat is a flying mouse, a bat is a rodent, a bat is a cold-blooded animal, a bat is a bird, a bat is related to count Dracula, etc.

7. Checking for understanding: (outcome based) Explain to students that many microbats have unusual noses. Many of these bats are named after their nose. Questions included that encourage students to work in groups in order to find the appropriate answers.

8. Specific affective and cognitive areas addressed: Have students display their bat knowledge by creating big books. Students will complete a vocabulary list using the words provided.

9. Specific teaching strategies which include student involvement: Encourage the students to do a echolocation experiment. What other animals use echolocation? Carlsbad Caverns is not only home to millions of bats, but also to many interesting formations. Have the students access the Web site of Carlsbad Caverns and encourage them to record the information they discover about bats and the formations found there. They might want to use this information to create their big book. Inspire the students to make a difference in the world of bats through understanding and environmental issues.

Build a bat house. Send for free bat house plans. Write to: Kenneth N. Ryan, Zoo Mobile Naturalist, The Phoenix Zoo Education Department, 455 North Galvin Parkway in Papago Park, Phoenix, Az. 85008 The fish and wildlife department also has free plans for building bat houses.


Bats: Our Winged Mammals Jaa' aban¶ Naaldlooshii dah yikahj¶ bit’a’ hºlºn¶g¶¶

According to Navajo tradition, the bbbbaaaatttt is called, jaa' aban¶, and it is believed to be a protector and is sacred in Navajo culture. It is said that no one should ever bother a jaa' aban¶.

In the traditional lore of Native Indians of Central and South America jaa' aban¶ are commonly portrayed along with other animals such as jaguars, hummingbirds, and snakes. In some cases, ceramic bat faces are shown with human bodies. In Mayan culture, it is believed that the jaa' aban¶ was the first animal in creation.

Zotz, the Mayan god of the underworlds, has upper incisor teeth that are either large and triangular-shaped or hooked. The triangular teeth are those of an adult vampire bat, the hooked teeth those of a very young vampire bat. Zotz has a vampire bat’s head on a human body and sometimes he is shown carrying a heart that is dripping blood.

In China and Japan, these animals are well liked. Most Oriental artists have portrayed jaa' aban¶ as signs of good luck, happiness, and long life. In China, for example, at least five different symbols represent jaa' aban¶ The jaa' aban¶ are symbols of happiness and joy,

and the five bat-designs, the “wu-fu,” represents the five blessings: old age, wealth, health, love of virtue, and a natural death.

Images of jaa' aban¶ are found in many Chinese pieces of art and on such items as clothing and utensils. In Chinese art, jaa' aban¶ may be presented with other postive symbols. Two examples are dragons; the spirit of change and life itself, and peaches signs of marriage, immortality and springtime.

A variety of flowers also accompanies many jaa' aban¶ symbols, meaning a number of positive images whose specific meaning changes according to the flowers and the context. Chinese representations of jaa' aban¶ are usually done in red for the color of joy.

In India, near the village of Piliangulam, a huge banyan tree is home to about 500 Gigantic Flying Foxes. Under the banyan tree is a shrine to a god named Muni. By protecting the jaa' aban¶ in the tree the villagers maintain favor with Muni. They fear his retribution should they fail in their duty; and they don’t tolerate others who would harm the jaa' aban¶. The villagers say that the bat colony has been there for at least 80 years.


Jaa' aban¶ were involved in war time operations during the war of 1812 between the United States and Great Britain and also during the Civil War. Jaa' aban¶ guano was an important source of saltpeter which was an essential ingredient in gunpowder. The jaa' aban¶ guano was obtained through mining the deposits of caves inhabited by jaa' aban¶. These caves were important enough to be guarded. Jaa' aban¶ today are used as symbols in armies all over the world.

Many people in Western cultures fear the jaa' aban¶. People fear jaa' aban¶ because of their popular association with blood-feeding and rabies. Others find house bats a nuisance because of their urine, droppings and sounds. Many people do not hesitate to kill jaa' aban¶. The truth is that most jaa' aban¶, are harmless to people. The jaa' aban¶ is a night feeder, superstitions developed about this animal correlating the nighttime with evil. This started in Shakespearean Europe. Even today jaa' aban¶ are often associated with witches, Count Dracula and Halloween.

Through the centuries, people have passed on many superstitions and mistaken ideas about jaa' aban¶. For example, the expression, "blind as a bat" is false. Jaa' aban¶ are not blind, and their eyes and sense of smell are well developed. All species of jaa' aban¶ can see even though their eyes are small.

Another fallacy is that jaa' aban¶ makes no sound. The truth is that their echolocation, ¡n¶inii bich¶' an¡hodziilts'iih ( a sensory system in certain animals, such as bats and dolphins, in which usually high-pitched sounds are emitted and their echoes interpreted to determine the direction and distance of objects by which they navigate and hunt prey) , is inaudible to humans, but roosting, han¡lyªªh (to rest or sleep on or as if on a perch), jaa' aban¶ do talk to each other at some level people can hear.

The beliefs that jaa' aban¶ carry bedbugs, pull your ears off, and get tangled in people's hair are also untrue. The only reason that a jaa' aban¶ would even want to fly close to you is if there were many mosquitoes hanging around you, then the jaa' aban¶ would be better than insect, ch'osh (numerous usually small arthropod animals of the class Insecta, having an adult stage characterized by three pairs of legs and a body segmented into head, thorax, and abdomen and usually having two pairs of wings), repellent! In order to get to the ch'osh the jaa' aban¶ must fly close to you, scattering the ch'osh but to the human observer it looks as though the jaa' aban¶ is diving for your hair, or your ears!

Jaa' aban¶ tend to be timid, ayahooliih ( shy). At night, they will try to fly out a window if they find


themselves in a room. Vocalizations, visual signals, and smell play important roles in the social lives of jaa' aban¶ which are among the most gregarious, jaa' aban¶ dib¢ ¬ich¶'¶ y¡zh¶ (tending to move in or form a group with others of the same kind), of the mammals.

Jaa' aban¶ is a misunderstood and feared mammal, adults and children alike often are curious about them. It was observed at an elementary school that children were casting projectiles at jaa' aban¶ as they roosted, han¶j¶lyªªh, during the daylight hours. This is quite a dangerous practice not only for the little brown bats, jaa' aban¶ dib¢ ¬ich¶'¶ y¡zh¶, but jaa' aban¶ can also be carriers of rabies. Jaa' aban¶ dib¢ ¬ich¶'¶ y¡zh¶, would han¶j¶lyªªh under the eaves of the school buildings. When children were asked why they would want to do this, their answer was "we wanted to see what jaa' aban¶ looked like."

Normally, jaa' aban¶ would not try to bite you or bother you in any way. However, if they are harassed, they could become aggressive and territorial, yaahºchª' (defending a territory from intruders). Stay away from jaa' aban¶. If you see jaa' aban¶ han¡lyªªh during the day, LEAVE THEM ALONE!

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Dr. Millicent Edison, a state public health veterinarian for New

Mexico says, "any physical contact with a jaa' aban¶ will automatically be considered a health threat, and will result in rabies vaccinations. All rabies cases in the United States, in the past few years in humans, have been related to jaa' aban¶. It is particularly important that people should avoid contact with jaa' aban¶. They must report any contact to animal control, even if they are not bites."

In the United States and Canada between 1955 and 1985 eight people are known to have died from the rabies virus caught from jaa' aban¶. Many people are bitten by dogs or stung by bees. The statistics indicate that public health risks do not justify jaa' aban¶ phobias.

When an attack does happen, it will usually receive headline status in the local newspaper, which in turn adds to peoples fear. On Thursday June 8, 1995, an article appeared in The Arizona Republic Newspaper about rabid bats discovered in Yuma. Nine people were treated with rabies vaccine. The article reads: “Rabid bats are unusual in Yuma, but a handful of the animals have tested positive for rabies, including two this past week. The bats were found on the ground and two adults and seven children were exposed to them. All persons exposed will receive rabies vaccinations. The children thought that the bats were injured and picked them up, thereby exposing themselves to the deadly virus. This year there has been a


dramatic increase in the number of human exposures to rabid bats. To date, 28 bats, have tested positive for rabies around the state of Arizona. A total of 21 people have had to receive anti-rabies vaccine following bite or contact exposure with rabid bats."

Another incident involving a rabid bat occurred in McKinley County in 1992.

"They have reported the first documented case of rabies in McKinley County in more than twenty years after a bat bit a man. Apparently he went out to feed his horse in the barn, and the bat was floating in a horse trough with some leaves. The man was clearing the leaves from the water when the bat bit him and dropped to the ground. The man then put the bat into a container and turned it over to the County Field Health Office for testing. The rabies case was confirmed Saturday night."

A jaa' aban¶ is a nocturnal animal that hunts at night or right at dusk. If you see a jaa' aban¶ that is han¡lyªªh during the day, this is normal behavior because they sleep during the day. If you see one that is flying during daylight, or sitting on or near the ground, this could mean that the jaa' aban¶ is sick. Animals with rabies do abnormal things.

You may ask how do jaa' aban¶ get rabies in the first place? How do jaa'

aban¶ spread rabies to other animals? These are good questions, but we don't always have the answers for them. Biting is an obvious answer, but lets consider some other ways.

Aggressive behavior between jaa' aban¶ often involves biting, so it is easy to see how a jaa' aban¶ infected with the rabies virus might bite a roost mate and spread the virus. One of these jaa' aban¶ afflicted with rabies could easily bite, just before it is killed and eaten by another animal. Jaa' aban¶ with rabies are quickly immobilized, and are usually dead within two days. Some evidence does exist of transmission of rabies to humans that can occur while in caves or grottos where jaa' aban¶ are han¶n¡lyªh. When the topic of rabies comes up, people become alarmed.

We must remember that these types of incidents are rare, but they do happen. This is why it is important to leave jaa' aban¶ alone, and to have our pets vaccinated against rabies.Take care to not over emphasize the threat of rabies, however, it is something that should be kept in mind, especially if you disturb han¡lyªªh jaa' aban¶. The jaa' aban¶ are easily injured and they will bite in self-defense, ¡ch££h naagh¡ (to protect itself).

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Rabies tsi’ deey¡, is a Bats: Jaa' aban¶ Naaldlooshii dah yikahj¶ bit’a’ hºlºn¶g¶¶ 8

disease caused by a virus that affects the nervous system. It is a disease of mammals and when an animals shows clinical signs of this disease, it is always fatal, and this includes humans.

Animals afflicted with rabies become progressively sicker, usually dying within two or three days of showing symptoms. Some animals with rabies go berserk, attacking anything and everything in their path. Others suffer from progressing paralysis that usually begins with the hind legs.

A rabid animal may go through both stages, the “furious” one when they go berserk and the “dumb” one when they are immobilized before they die. With either one of these symptoms, the throat muscles often are paralyzed making the victim unable to swallow their saliva. This makes the animal “drool” and appear to “foam” at the mouth. Spasms in the throat muscles are aggravated by attempting but unable to drink water explaining ““““hhhhyyyyddddrrrroooopppphhhhoooobbbbiiiiaaaa”””” fear of water, another name for rabies.

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1111.... Remember that bats of all sizes will bite in self-defense but most never attack people. By not handling bats, everyone can reduce their chances of being bitten. The risk of contracting rabies is an excellent reason to avoid being bitten by

any bat. Bats, like all other mammals, are susceptible to this disease, which is usually spread from one animal to another by biting. Rabies is always fatal.

2222.... Do not keep bats as pets.

3333.... If you are bitten by a bat, go to see your doctor immediately.

4444.... If you are working in an area with bat droppings, wear a mask or respirator that will remove particles. If you develop flu-like symptoms tell your doctor. A skin test will indicate if you have been exposed to histoplasmosis. If you need to be around bats, obtain pre-exposure rabies vaccinations.

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Ecolocation, an¶inii bichª' an¡hodziiltsª•h, describes how an animal uses echoes of sound it produces to locate objects in its path. This method, sometimes called "biosonar," is the animal equivalent of sonar which depends upon pulses of sound and their echoes. Echolocation, an¶inii bichª' an¡hodziiltsª•h, is best known from jaa' aban¶ but it is not unique to them. Other mammals and birds also use sonar. Most echolocating animals produce a pulse of sound and receive the returning echo before producing the next signal. The differences between the original signal


and its echos contain the raw data necessary for an¶inii bichª' an¡hodziiltsª•h.

Some jaa' aban¶ depend on their vision and sense of smell to navigate, bee bi¬ b¢¢hºzin (to make one's way), and to find food at night. Other jaa' aban¶ cannot see well in the dark. They bee bi¬ b¢¢hºzin by means of these echoes. Echoes result from a series of short high-frequency sounds that the jaa' aban¶ make continually while flying. Jaa' aban¶ are extremely helpful to people by eating many ch'osh each night.

According to Zoologist, Naaldlooshii yaa'º¬t¡ (the branch of biology that deals with animals and animal life, including the study of the structure, physiology, development, and classification of animals), Heidi Valega, from the American Bat Conservation Society, on the average 500 destructive and annoying pests may be consumed each hour, all night, by a single jaa' aban¶!

Most jaa' aban¶ use vocalizations as an¶inii bichª' an¡hodziiltsª•h calls. The sounds are called vocalizations because they are produced in the voice box, or larynx, y¡shti' ( part of the respiratory tract between the pharynx and the trachea, having walls of cartilage and muscle and containing the vocal cords enveloped in folds of mucous membrane). Vocalizations are sounds made when vocal chords vibrate as air

passess over them. Muscles in the y¡shti' adjust the tension on the vocal chords. Differences in the vocal tracts and nasal chambers may enhance or alter the details of the sounds.

Other well-known echolocators are the toothed whales, porpoises, dolphins, killer whales and their relatives. It is likely that the baleen whales also use an¶inii bichª' an¡hodziiltsª•h but this remains unproven. From these echoes, the animals can determine the direction and distance of objects in the area.

Each species of jaa' aban¶ that uses an¶inii bichª' an¡hodziiltsª•h makes its own kind of noise. Most of these sounds extend beyond the range of human hearing. Some Naaldlooshii yaa'º¬t¡ believe that a jaa' aban¶ may use its lips or nose-leaf to direct the sounds in a particular direction or at a specific target, such as a ch'osh. Echoes from the ch'osh give the jaa' aban¶ information about the movement of the prey, besides its direction and distance.

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Several measurable features of sound are relevant to an¶inii bichª' an¡hodziiltsª•h. They include pitch or frequency, which affects wavelength, as well as intensity and loudness.


The pitch or frequency of jaa' aban¶ sounds normally is measured in kliloHertz, abbreviated as kHz. One kHz is one thousand cycles per second or 1000 Hertz. Sounds above 20 kHz are called “ultrasonic” because they are beyond the range of “normal” human hearing. The an¶inii bichª' an¡hodziiltsª•h calls of most jaa' aban¶ are ultrasonic and not audible to people.

Higher frequency sounds have shorter wavelengths than lower frequency sounds. This means that to an echolocating jaa' aban¶ higher frequency sounds can provide more detailed information about a target. On balance however, higher frequency sounds are more rapidly absorbed by the atmosphere, giving jaa' aban¶ a shorter operational range by an¶inii bichª' an¡hodziiltsª•h .The strength of sound can be expressed as loudness or intensity. Loudness is a perceptual measure reflecting how a signal sounds to a listener. Intensity is a physical measure of the energy or power in a sound. It usually is measured in decibels, abbreviated as dB.

The an¶inii bichª' an¡hodziiltsª•h signals of the Little Brown Bat, jaa' aban¶ dib¢ ¬ich¶'¶ y¡zh¶, measure 110 dB at 10 cm in front of the jaa' aban¶ mouth. The signals are slightly more intense than the sound from a smoke detector, a common fixture in many homes. The smoke detector sounds loud to us, while we cannot hear the an¶inii bichª'

an¡hodziiltsª•h call of a jaa' aban¶ dib¢ ¬ich¶'¶ y¡zh¶, but the two different sounds have similar intensities. This comparison illustrates the difference between loudness and intensity. Not all intense sounds are loud.

An an¶inii bichª' an¡hodziiltsª•h jaa' aban¶ produces a pulse of sound and within half a second could theoretically receive echoes from objects up to 85 m away. The initial pulse is much stronger that the returning echo and the echo’s strength depends upon the distance it has traveled.

By measuring the time in milliseconds (ms) between the production of the original signal and the arrival of its echo, the jaa' aban¶ learns the distance to the an¶inii bichª' an¡hodziiltsª•h source. Time is one important source of information for the an¶inii bichª' an¡hodziiltsª•h jaa'aban¶.

Many jaa' aban¶ produce an¶inii bichª' an¡hodziiltsª•h pulses that cover a range of frequencies. The range of frequencies is the bandwidth of the signal. Often the jaa' aban¶ puts more energy into some frequencies of its signal than it does into others. The power spectrum is one way of representing the distribution of energy across the frequencies in the signal. An¶inii bichª' an¡hodziiltsª•h jaa' aban¶ collect detailed information about targets by comparing the power spectra of the original signal and its echo.


Sonagrams show how frequency changes over time. Some sonagrams show the original pulse and the returning echo. By comparing pulse and echos an an¶inii bichª' an¡hodziiltsª•h jaa' aban¶ uses differences in time and frequency structure to measure its distance from a

target and to assess the details of the target. The power spectra of the echolocation call and its echo are shown on the upper right. Note the differences between the original pulse and its echo. These provide echolocating bats with detailed information about target structure.

Variation in Echolocation Calls

Hunting bats vary the design of their echolocation calls. Shown above, is a selection of the variety of echolocation calls used by the Hoary Bat, Red Bat, and Big Brown Bat. Each species may use broadband or narrowband calls depending upon the stage of their attack on a flying insect.


Sonogram


A time-amplitude display, above, of a Big Brown Bat’s echolocation call and its echo. The call lasted 2.5 milliseconds, and the echo followed 1.4 milliseconds after the end of the call. This means that the echo returned from an object 0.66 m in front of the bat.

About 6 ms before beginning to produce an echolocation call, muscles in the bat’s middle ear contract, reaching their full contraction during the production of the vocalization. After the call, the middle ear muscles begin to relax, and they are fully relaxed 2 to 8 ms later. The contraction of the middle ear muscles separates the three bones of the middle ear, the malleus, incus and stapes, reducing the transmission of sounds from the eardrum to the inner ear. What this means is that is that the contraction of muscles in the middle ear reduces the bat’s hearing sensitivity, but does not completely make the bat deaf.


The Power Spectra of the echolocation call and it’s echo are shown below. Note the differences btween the original pulse and it’s echo. these provide echolocationg bats with detailed information about target structures.


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Stellaluna is the heartwarming story of a baby bat’s desire to be reunited with her mother. Along the way she is adopted by a family of birds where she learns to eat, sleep, and fly like a bird. Stellaluna is finally reunited with her mother, but the friendship with her bird siblings remains as they learn to appreciate each other--differences and all.

Sample Plan.

Lesson 1Find out how students feel about batsRead StellalunaUse puppet props to act out the storyIntroduce the Bat Cavern (Carlsbad Caverns)Do a wingspan measurementComplete journal writing.

Lesson 2Reread Stellaluna. Have students retell the story using verbal sequencing.Pictorially sequence the story eventsLearn about Nocturnal AnimalsFind out about where bats liveContinue daily journal writing

Lesson 3Review the story, focusing on illustrations and emphasize friendly behaviors.Read other stories about friendship. Learn about Megabats and microbats.Discover more facts about megabats,Listen to poems about bats.Continue journal writing.


FRIENDS HELPING FRIENDS

Stellaluna and her bird siblings are special friends. They were able to help one another in times of trouble. Share other stories of friendship. Here are two to get you started:

THE ISLAND OF SKOG by Steven Kellogg

A group of mice travel together to a distant island to find a peaceful new home. They soon learn that the island is home to a skog, but they are not sure what a skog is. The story shows how working together and over coming our fears can bring about a true friendship.

Activities:

1. After reading The Island of the Skog, have students tell about friendships they noticed throughout the story. Which characters treated others with kindness? Which characters were bossy?

2. Have students brainstorm behaviors they can exhibit to help them develop friendships with others. Write down their responses on chart paper.

3. Review the lists of responses the students came up with on friendship behaviors each day and encourage your students to use these behaviors to treat each other with kindness and respect.

FROG AND TOAD ARE FRIENDS by Arnold Lobel

Frog and Toad have a friendship that endures through good times and bad. This book has five different chapter like stories about friends helping friends.

Activities:

1. After reading the story, ask the students to tell what they would do to cheer up a friend who wasn’t feeling well. Ask the students to write a story about a time when they have helped their friends.

2. Read the Letter. Ask students to tell you how they feel when they receive letters in the mail. Invite each child to write a letter and draw a picture to be sent or given to a friend.

3. Ask the students to think about someone that is a good friend. Ask them to think about their favorite activity that they like ding with that friend. Have students write individual short stories about enjoying the activities they do with their good friends. Have them illustrate their stories.



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Jaa' aban¶ eat a lot of insects, ch'osh. If a nursing female Little Brown Bat, were to feed just on mosquitoes, she would eat more than 5,000 of them every night! Many species of jaa'aban¶ feed on ch'osh that fly at night. A jaa'aban¶ catches ch’osh in its mouth, tail membrane, or wings as it flies. Many species of jaa' aban¶ prey on large arachnids:

- scorpions, s¢¶go' members of the arachnids of the order Scorpionida, of warm, dry regions, having a segmented body and an erectile tail tipped with a venomous sting.

-spiders, na'ashj¢'ii any of numerous arachnids of the order Araneae, having a body divided into a cephalothorax bearing eight legs, two poison fangs, and two feelers and an unsegmented abdomen bearing several spinnerets that produce the silk used to make nests,

cocoons, or webs for trapping insects on the ground.

A few species of jaa' aban¶ pluck ch'osh from the surface of water with their mouth or claws.

Some jaa' aban¶ catch:

- fish, ¬ºº', any of numerous cold blooded aquatic vertebrates of the superclass Pisces, characteristically having fins, gills,and a streamlined body.

- lizards, na'ash≠'ii'¬ b¡h¶ , reptiles of the suborder Sauria or Lacertilia, having a scaly elongated body, movable eyelids, four legs, and a tapering tail.

- rodents, tsin deigh¡zhii, various mammals of the order Rodentia, such as a mouse, rat, squirrel, or beaver, characterized by large incisors adapted for gnawing or nibbling.

-birds, ts¶dii, any of the class Aves of warm-blooded, egg-laying, feathered vertebrates with forelimbs modified to form wings.

-tree frogs, ch'a¬ tsin y™™hnaaldeeh¶, small arboreal frogs of the family Hylidae having long toes terminating in adhesive disks, also called tree toad.

-The vampire bat, jaa'aban¶ ats'––s¶, feeds on blood.

Tropical jaa' aban¶ feed on plants, ch'il. Some of these species gather nectar and pollen from flowers, ch'il l¡tahºzhººn. Such bats, jaa' aban¶, pollinate, t¡d¶d¶¶n ¡yii¬’••h (to transfer pollen from an anther to the stigma of (a flower) , the ch'il on which they feed. Other tropical jaa' aban¶, eat fruit, tsin bineest'™', (the ripened ovary or ovaries of a seed-bearing plant, together with accessory parts, containing the seeds and occurring in a wide variety of forms), helping to spread the seeds of many ch'il.

These jaa' aban¶ may drop small seeds from their mouths as they eat at their feeding ground. They also may bring tsin bineest'™' with large seeds to their roost and drop the seeds there after eating the tsin bineest'™'. Seeds are also deposited with the jaa' aban¶ guano. The seeds may land on soil and sprout, i'd¶n¶is£, ad¶n¢es£ (to begin to grow; give off shoots or buds).

Jaa' aban¶ that eat moist food do not need to drink much water. Many species of jaa' aban¶ lap up water with their tongue, atsoo' (the fleshy movable muscular organ attached in most vertebrates to the floor of the mouth that is the principal organ of taste, an aid in chewing and swallowing, and, in human beings, an important organ of speech) , as they fly near the surface of a pond or stream.

There are more than 950 species

of jaa' aban¶! Bats live in all parts of the world except Antarctica and the Arctic. Most kinds make their home in the tropics, where they can find food the year round. About forty species of jaa' aban¶ live in Canada and the United States. Nearly two thirds of all these species of jaa' aban¶ feed mainly on ch'osh and all insectivorous bats are Microchiroptera, another name is Micobats.

Microbats are generally smaller than Megabats with a wingspan up to five inches (13 cm). they have large ears and small eyes. Most microbats eat insects and use echolocation to hunt. Their ears and noses come in a variety of shapes and sizes.

Some bats in the Microbat family are:

THE RED BAT Jaa' aban¶ ¬ich¶¶'¶’g¶¶

The red bat, jaa' aban¶ ¬ich¶¶'¶g¶¶, has white-tipped red fur. The male is bright red, and the female is grayish red. Red bats have short rounded ears covered with fur. Their wingspan measures about 12 inches (30 centimeters). They live alone in trees and migrate south every winter.

THE HOARY BAT The hoary bat, the largest bat of North


America, has a wingspan of about 16 inches (41 centimeters). White hairs cover its reddish brown under fur, giving the bat a spotted appearance. Hoary bats live alone in trees and migrate south for the winter.

BROWN BATS Jaa'aban¶ ¬ich¶'¶

Brown bats, jaa'aban¶ ¬ich¶'¶, include the big brown bat, jaa' aban¶ ¬ich¶' ¶tsoh, and the little brown bat, jaa' aban¶ dib¢ ¬ich¶'¶ y¡zh¶, both of which live in the United States. Jaa'aban¶ ¬ich¶'¶ live in buildings or caves and some migrate, n¶dadi'n¢¢h, n¶dad¶'n¢¢h, before they hibernate, haigo noo'n¶daakah¶g¶¶, in winter. The Big Brown Bat, Jaa' aban¶ dib¢¬ch¶'¶ has dark brown fur and a wingspan of about 12 inches ) 30 centimeters). Jaa' aban¶ dib¢¬ch¶'¶ occur throughout much of North America and the northern part of South America, as well as many islands in the West Indies.

Sometimes female big brown bats have twins. Jaa' aban¶ dib¢¬ch¶'¶ eat mostly ch'osh and can comsume 50 to 100% of their body weight every single night! These jaa' aban¶ have been observed catching 5 to 20 ch'osh a minute!

The Little Brown Bat Jaa' aban¶ dib¢ ¬ich¶'¶ y¡zh¶, has dark brown fur and

black forearms and ears. Its wingspan measures about 8 inches (20 centimeters). Over much of the United States, Jaa' aban¶ dib¢ ¬ich¶'¶ y¡zh¶ are abundant. They occur from Alaska, the Yukon and the Northwest Territories in the north to the Southern United States and some parts of the highlands in Mexico.

In the spring, female little brown bats form nursery colonies, dah yin¢¢¬, in the attics of buildings, usually older structures within 1 km of water. The bats leave these sites at the end of summer and migrate to hibernation sites. As their name implies, jaa' aban¶ dib¢ ¬ich¶'¶ y¡zh¶ are small and brown in color. The fur on their bellies is usually lighter in color. Their wingspan is about 20 cm and their forearms are 35-40 mm long. Adults usually weigh 7-8 grams when they leave hibernation and up to 10-14 grams at the end of the summer.

Jaa' aban¶ dib¢ ¬ich¶'¶ y¡zh¶ eat ch'osh. Female little brown bats have a single baby that is born bottom ((((bbbbrrrreeeeeeeecccchhhh)))) first. The mother bats leaves their babies in nursery colonies when they go out to feed.

When returning back to the nursery colony the jaa' aban¶ ¡adii dib¢¬ch¶'¶g¶¶ recognize their babies by their calls and then by color. Babies are ready to fly by the age of three weeks and at this time begin to eat ch'osh.

BAT NURSERY(often called a cz¢che)

Mammals are animals that have fur or hair on their bodies and who deliver their babies in a live birth rather than having their babies hatch from eggs. Mammal mothers produce rich milk from their bodies to feed their babies. Bats are the only flying mammals that nurse their babies with their milk. When the bat babies are very small, the mother bats carry them, clinging to their bodies when they hunt. Bats also do something else very special. Later, when the babies are a little older the babies are left in a portion of the cave home called the nursery. When the mother returns, a least twice each night to feed her baby which is called a pup, she is able to find her own baby by its smell and by the sounds of its cries. Nurseries can have hundreds of pups all hanging together upside down. These bat pups, born during springtime, usually take their first flight when they are about a month old. Soon after that they fly outside the cave and find their own food. By the fall, young bats are able to fly along with the adults.

Activities:

1. Discuss with the students the difference between mammals and other types of animals. Based on the information given above, have the students determine whether or not dogs, cats, turtles, birds, and fish are mammals.

2. Ask the students to think about the care a mother bat gives her baby. Does the mother leave her baby alone? How long does the mother care for her baby before it can fly? Ask the students to think about the length of time human mothers care for their babies? How does this differ from bats? Discuss their responses.

3. Ask the students to create illustrations showing the similarities between bats and other animals including humans. How many mammals do they think keep their infants in nurseries? Give each student a sheet of paper. Have them fold the paper in half, creating two sections. On one half of the page, the students draw bat illustration and on the opposite half, an illustration of another type of animal. Have them complete their project by writing a few sentences about his or her illustrations. Encourage them to visit the library to find a book about bat nurseries.


FREE-TAILED BATS

Free-tailed bats are a group of dark brown bats that live throughout the world. Their tail extends beyond the tail

membrane. A few kinds of these bats, especially the Mexican free-tailed bat, can be found in the Southwestern United States.

Mexican free-tailed bats have large ears, sharp teeth, and a wingspan of up to 12 inches (30 centimeters). Mexican free-tailed bats live in colonies, dah yin¢¢¬, mostly in caves. Some caves in the American Southwest house over five million of these jaa' aban¶ . Mexican free-tailed bats eat moths. Because bats are nocturnal animals they fly all night long in search of food. The female bears one young per year.

CREATURES OF THE NIGHT

Nocturnal animals are creatures that are most active at night. Bats are nocturnal. Their bodies are specialized so they can fly and hunt in the dark. Being nocturnal benefits bats in many ways. Resting in a safe place during the day helps to protect them from enemy attack. Because bats have such large expanses of skin for their body size they overheat easily. Roosting in cool places helps them to regulate their body temperatures by avoiding sunlight.

Being nocturnal also gives bats an advantage in hunting, Most bats use echolocation to catch insects and small creatures for food. The nighttime hours allows bats to hunt without the competition of diurnal (daytime) animals.

During the daylight hours, most bats congregate in caves, trees, or corners of buildings. At dusk, bats begin to awaken. At this time they begin their cleaning rituals. Bats are very clean animals and they spend time each evening combing their fur and cleaning their ears using their tongues and claws. When the sun has gone down for the night bats begin to leave their roosts in search of food. When daylight approaches they fly back to their homes. As they approach their roost many bats fly high over the opening, tuck their wings near their bodies and dive with great speed into the roost.


LESSER MOUSE-TAILED BAT

Lesser Mouse-tailed bats are medium-sized with forearms 52-60 mm long and can be distinguished from the other two species of Mouse-tailed bats by their size.

Females have one baby a year nurse them from a pair of pectoral mammary glands, but they also have a pair of pelvic teats without mammary glands. The baby clings to the pelvic teats when they are not nursing. This unusual anatomical feature along with their chromosomes makes Mouse-tailed bats "primitive."

Lesser Mouse-tailed bats eat a variety of ch’osh, from flies to beetles. They roost in caves, tunnels, mosques, temples, and other building. Lesser Mouse-tailed bats are found in North- west Africa, Burma and Southern India. THE SILVER-HAIRED BAT

The silver-haired bat has dark under fur with white outer hair that looks like frost. Both males and females have brownish under fur, but the male has blacker coloring. The silver-haired bat has a wingspan of about 13 inches (33 centimeters). These bats live in trees. In summer, the males live alone and the females in groups. Some silver-haired bats hibernate in winter, but most of them migrate south.

HIBERNATION

Hibernation means to spend the winter not being active. Very few mammals actually hibernate, bats are one of the few that do. Not all bats hibernate, however. Those that live in climates that are warm all year do not need to hibernate. Bats that do hibernate sleep during the cold months of the year. During this deep sleep a bat’s heart rate drops from 900 beats to only 20 per minute. Their breathing slows down too.Before hibernating bats spend the autumn months eating incredible amounts of food in order to increase their body weight. It is necessary for them to store body fat so that they can live on fat during hibernation. This explains why some bats eat as many as 1,000 insects every hour during the summer and early fall. In the United States, bats typically hibernate from October to March. they find peaceful places to sleep during these months. It is important that they stay undisturbed, because if they wake up too early, they use much of their stored fat and they can die.


MEGABATS

Megabats are the largest bats and have large eyes and excellent eyesight. Megabats do not use echolocation. Most megabats have short round ears. Most megabats eat fruit and have a good sense of smell so that they can find ripened fruit and flower nectar.

Megabats can have wingspans up to six feet (1.90 meters). They carry their babies when they flay and they roost together in trees and wrap their wings around themselves to keep warm. There are about 150 kinds of megabats.

FRUIT BATSJaa' aban¶ tsin bineest'™' yiy¡n¶g¶¶

Fruit bats live mostly in tropical regions of Africa and Asia. These bats eat mostly fruit and they can occasionally damage orchards.

Flying foxes, Jaa' aban¶ tsin bineest'™' yiy¡n¶g¶¶, are one species of the fruit bat. The flying fox will also eat flower buds, nectar, and pollen. Flying foxes have large eyes and better vision than many other jaa' aban¶. These bats have a wingspan of more than 5 feet (1.5 meters) and a body about the size of a

pigeon's.

This large bat is often killed for food for people to eat in Asian countries. Many kinds of flying fox bats are already extinct. All over the world the biggest danger to bats is from people. Pesticides that farmers use to kill insects also kill the bats when they eat the infected insects. Some people kill bats on purpose by shooting them. Other people kill bats by accident when they enter a cave in the winter and wake up hibernating bats.


WINGSPAN MEASURMENTS

Bats come in many different sizes. For each bat listed below, find something in your room that is the same size and write the name of that item on the line.

1. The wingspan of the flying fox is 1.5 meters.

_________________________________________________________________2. The wingspan of the vampire bat is 30 centimeters.

__________________________________________________________________3. The wingspan of a Hoary bat is 41 centimeters.

__________________________________________________________________4. The wingspan of the Silver haired bat is 33 centimeters.

__________________________________________________________________5. The wingspan of a white winged vampire bat is 12 inches.

__________________________________________________________________6. The wingspan of the Little Brown bat is 8 inches.

__________________________________________________________________7. The wingspan of a Hog Nose bat is 5 inches.

__________________________________________________________________8. The wingspan of a Bent Winged bat is 9 centimeters.

__________________________________________________________________9. The wingspan of the Yellow Winged bat is 14 centimeters.

__________________________________________________________________10. The wingspan of the Big Brown bat is 12 inches.

__________________________________________________________________


VAMPIRE BATSJaa'aban¶ ats'––s¶

Vampire bats, jaa'aban¶ ats'––s¶, feed only on blood; a fact that sets the human imagination racing. People are often surprised to learn that the three species of vampire bats, the Common Vampire Bat, the White winged Vampire Bat, and the Hairy legged Vampire Bat, are all are found in the New World tropics and not in central Europe.

Vampire bats are members of the New World Leaf-nosed Bats, the Phyllostomidae. All three species of living Vampire bats occur in South and Central America, and they are considered a serious pest in areas where cattle and horses are kept because they transmit rabies and other diseases.

Many human myths about vampires involve Count Dracula somehow involve the jaa'aban¶ ats'––s¶ . The truth is that this bat gets it name from these human myths. When

European explorers discovered that this bat fed on blood, they gave it the name vampire.

The jaa'aban¶ ats'––s¶ weighs about 1 ounce (28 grams) and has a wingspan of about 12 inches (30 centimeters). It preys mostly on cattle, b¢¢gashii. It sometimes bites human beings, but such incidents are rare. Part of the brain, called the inferior colliculus which processes sound, is specialized in jaa'aban¶ ats'––s¶ for detecting the regular breathing sounds of a sleeping animal such as a cow.

Once the intended victim has been located jaa'aban¶ ats'––s¶ lands on the ground near by and approaches its prey on foot, biting in the neck, shoulder, rump, or ankle. Among bats, Common Vampires are the most agile on the ground, hopping about like ballet dancers.


A heat sensor that is located on the nose-leaf of Common Vampire Bats, permits them to locate an area where the blood flows close to the skin. If there is hair or fur on the skin, it uses the canine and cheek teeth like a barber’s shears to clip away hair. The jaa'aban¶ ats'––s¶ then uses its razor-sharp upper incisor teeth to scoop out a small piece of the victim's skin .

Barely larger than a sparrow, the jaa'aban¶ ats'––s¶ is a fearsome sight. It’s wedge shaped incisor teeth are used for slashing open the skin of it’s prey. Jaa'aban¶ ats'––s¶ once preyed on wild animals, but now mostly feed on domestic livestock. The jaa'aban¶ ats'––s¶ have been known to feed on sleeping humans. In a year, a colony of 100 vampire bats consumes a quantity of blood equivalent to the amount of twenty-five cows. Jaa'aban¶ ats'––s¶ bite more calves than cows, probably because the young calves sleep for much longer

periods.

Saliva that contains an anti-coagulant to prevent the blood from clotting is deposited in the wound. The bats tongue has two lateral grooves which alternately open and close while the bat is feeding. This action draws the blood up the deeply grooved lower lip into the mouth. Jaa'aban¶ ats'––s¶ consume about 1 tablespoon (15 milliliters) of blood a day. The wound that they give their victims heals quickly, but jaa'aban¶ ats'––s¶ may carry rabies.

Vampire Bats roost in caves, hollow trees, and buildings. The bat leaves it’s roost just after dark setting out to find a meal. Each adult has a 7% chance of not feeding on any given night. This means that about once every twenty-five nights, the bat will miss its meal and go hungry.

The young of the vampire bat will nurse from its mother for up to nine months, this is at least six months longer than other jaa'aban¶. The long period of nursing means that each female will only produce one young a year. Like other jaa'aban¶ common Vampires are long-lived and some survive almost 20 years in the wild.

When you consider their anatomical specialization's and amazing social structure, the vampires are among the most exciting of jaa'aban¶.


DO YOU BELIEVE THAT MYTH?

MYTH 1

Some people believe that the vampire bat is related to Count Dracula.

In many different cultures, vampires are people who return from the dead to feed on the blood of living people. Bram Stroker, the author of Count Dracula, was intrigued by publicity surrounding the bats that the European explorers brought back with them from the tropics. He included these bats in his book and the rest is history. The vampire is not related to Count Dracula.

MYTH 2

Some people believe that all bats are blind.

That is not true. All bats can see. Some bats do not use their eyes to catch insects. They use echolocation. Many bats have very good eyesight. They have large eyes and can see very well in the dark.

MYTH 3

Some people believe that bats attack people.

Bats are very gentle shy creatures. They are very helpful. Some bats help to pollinate plants. Some bats eat harmful insects and other creatures. Bats do no attack people or get tangled in your hair ot eat your ears. If any of these type of things happen, it would be because of a mistake, or that the bat is sick, it would never be on purpose.

MYTH 4

Some people believe that bats are birds.

Bats are not birds. Bats are mammals that give birth to live young and feed their babies with milk from their bodies. Birds lay eggs and feed their young with insects.

Bats: Jaa' aban¶ Naaldlooshii dah 28

THE LIFE OF A BAT

Jaa' aban¶, like humans, are mammals. They have fur or hair, give birth to live young, and feed their newborns milk until they are old enough to fend for themselves. Being warm-blooded is another feature we associate with mammals. Bats, jaa' aban¶, have smooth and flexible skin that covers their wings.

Whether the bats, jaa' aban¶ , are modern species or those that lived 50 million years ago, and wherever they occur in the world, they all share the same basic structure. Their wings are folds of skin that extend between the fore limbs attached to the sides of their bodies to the hind limbs of their tail. This distinguishes them from other flying vertebrates, the birds and the extinct pterosaurs.

In birds, the wings are made of feathers supported by specialized hand bones, while in the extinct pterosaurs each wing consisted of folds of skin stretched from the side of the body, along the arm and one elongated finger. The posture of the legs of jaa' aban¶ differs remarkably from that of other mammals. When jaa' aban¶ are flying, their thigh bones (femora) stick out to the side and slightly back, while the

lower bones (tibia and fibula) point to the rear. It looks as like they are bow-legged. When jaa' aban¶ are walking, their hind legs splay to the side in a posture like many na'ash≠'ii¬ b¡h¶.

Many jaa' aban¶ hang upside down when they are not flying, holding on to their han¶j¶ly••h with their toes. Their sharp claws enable them to grip a small uneven surface. It takes no energy for the jaa' aban¶ to hang from its perch.

Another spectacular feature of the jaa' aban¶ is their neck. People should think of the jaa' aban¶ and not the giraffe when neck contortions come to mind. The jaa' aban¶ will han¶j¶ly••h upside down and from this posture, lift its head, arch the neck, and look straight back. They can turn their heads all the way around and face directly behind them.

Like other animals, jaa' aban¶ are home to different parasites, ch'osh yah d¢esd¡h¶ (an organism that grows, feeds, and is sheltered on or in a different organism while contributing nothing to the survival of its host) . Some of them live in the body, while others live on the outside. Other than parasites jaa' aban¶ have few enemies.


THE BODY OF A BAT

Nose Leaf Bat

The face and head of jaa' aban¶ vary greatly among the various species. Some jaa' aban¶ have a head shaped like that of a miniature bear or dog. Other jaa' aban¶ have a flatter face. Some species have folds of skin called a nose-leaf on their snout. The nose-leaf may look like a spearhead or a blade. Jaa' aban¶ have a good sense of smell that helps them find food and their han¡lyªªh.

The breathing rate, heartbeat, and body temperature unlike those of many other mammals often vary greatly, depending on its activities and the temperature of its surroundings. Among some species, the temperature of a resting bat becomes the same as that of its environment. The skeleton of a jaa' aban¶ shows how its front limbs have evolved for flight. A thin membrane of skin is stretched across the elongated fingers, ending at the tail. Most jaa' aban¶ have weak legs. Some fold up their wings and

use their arms and legs to walk. Most species do not walk at all. They use their legs to hang from their roosts.

The skeleton of a bat resembles that of other mammals. Like many other mammals, a jaa' aban¶ has hands with fingers and feet with toes. A jaa' aban¶ hands serve as its wings. Its long fingers support the flexible skin of the wings. The upper arm, forearm, and second and third fingers make up the front edge of the wing.

The fourth and fifth fingers help support the wing. The inner edge of the wing extends down the side of the body and along the leg to the ankle and foot.

The length of a jaa' aban¶ wings varies from species to species. The swiftest species of jaa' aban¶ have long, narrow wings. Some species, which can hover in one place, have short, broad wings. Some jaa' aban¶ can fly as fast as 15 miles (24 kilometers) per hour, but most of them travel from 5 to 8 miles (8 to 13 kilometers) per hour.


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Bats are the only mammals that have wings. Even though they can fly, their wings and bodies are very different from birds. Bats actually have legs, arms, and fingers. The wings just make their body parts difficult to recognize. The arms and fingers of


bats are what give structure to the wing membrane so bats can fly. The wing membrane is made of strong skin that is stretched tightly over the fingers. Like a human, bats have a thumb and four fingers on each hand. Bats’ wings are like webbed hands. Bats can maneuver their wings or tail to catch a bug and toss it into their mouths. Bats can move their wings in ways birds cannot. Bats’ wings are extremely large compared to the sizes of their bodies. They have strong shoulder muscles that are used to move the wings and help make them great fliers. Some bats fly very slowly which allows them to change directions quickly. There are even some kinds of bats that can hover in place like helicopters.

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Bats’ small feet are attached to the lower portion of the wings. Bats have claws on their feet and one claw on each thumb. They use these claws to hang upside down, clean their fur and ears, and move around in their roosts.

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Bats do not have feathers on their bodies. They are covered with fur. While their wings appear to be bare they actually are covered with tiny hairs.

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1. Share the above information with your students. Show pictures or photographs of different types of bats. Encourage the students to try and identify the bats legs, claws, wings and tail membranes, arms, fingers, thumbs, and fur.

2. Duplicate page 31 for each student. To complete the page, the student labels the parts of the bat in the correct places.


Name______________________Date________________


CRITICAL THINKING CHALLENGE

Below is a list of questions to encourage mathematical thinking. Pose one or two questions a day. Provide scrap paper or journal entry paper so that the students can show their logic via illustration or mathematical computation.

1. In Carlsbad C averns, three hundred bats sometimes gather in a one-foot square space. How many bats would fit in a two-foot square? A five foot square?

2. If the wingspan of a microbat is five inches, how many bats would it take to equal fifteen inches?

3. A bat has five fingers at the end of each wing. How many fingers does it have all together? If you count the fingers on eight bats, how many fingers would there be in all?

4. The inside temperature of Carlsbad Caverns is 56 degrees Fahrenheit (14 degrees Celsius). If the temperature outside the cave is 78 degrees Fahrenheit (26 degrees Celsius), how much hotter is it outside than inside?

5. A brown bat can catch 150 insects in 15 minutes. How many insects can it catch in 30 minuets?

6. There are 950 different kinds of bats. If 535 of them are microbats, how many of them are megabats?

7. Some bats have two babies each year. How many babies would a mother bat have after seven years if she had two babies each year?

8. The largest bat is the flying fox. Its body is about 16 inches (48 cm) long. How many inches (centimeters) longer than one foot (30 cm) is the flying fox?

9. Some bats can fly as fast as 60 miles per hour. At this speed, how many miles could a bat travel in three hours?

10. A bat can live to be 30 years old. How old is the bat when it has lived half of its life?


MEGABATS AND MICROBATS

Scientists divide bats into two groups: megabats and microbats. There are about 150 kinds of megabats and about 800 kinds of microbats.

Megabats have large eyes and excellent vision. Most megabats have short round ears. Most megabats eat fruit and have a good sense of smell so that they can find ripened fruit. They can have wingspans up to six feet ( 1.9 meters) they roost together in trees and wrap their wings around themselves to keep warm.

Microbats are generally smaller than megabats with wingspans up to five inches (13 cm.). they have large ears and small eyes. Most microbats eat insects and use echolocation to hunt. Their ears and noses come in a variety of shapes and sizes.

Activities:

1. Share the above information with your students. As your students research bats, ask them to identify whether the bats are megabats or microbats. Encourage them to look at the size of the bats’ eyes and ears., wingspans, and the kinds of foods eaten in order to help them arrive at their conclusions.

2. Display two sheets of chart paper--one labeled Megabats and the other labeled Microbats. As the students identify and learn about the differences in bats, write the names of the bats on the chart under the appropriate heading.

3. Ask the students to determine whether Stellaluna is a megabat or a microbat. What characteristics helped them to determine this?

4. Have each student choose one type of bat to illustrate. Below the illustrations have the student write the name of the bat (Example: Flying Fox), the group name (Example: Megabat), and some information and characteristics of that particular bat which will help them in classifying it either as a megabat or a microbat.

5. Conduct research to find out if bats live in your part of the world. Determine if the bats that live in your area are megabats, microbats, or both.


FACT VS. OPINION

A fact is something that is true.Bats can fly.

An opinion tells the way someone feels about something.Bats are fun to watch.

Read the sentences below. Write fact or opinion beside each sentence. Talk to a friend about why you make the answer choice you did.

1. Flying foxes are large bats.___________________________________________

2. Vampire bats are scary.______________________________________________

3. Most bats hibernate.________________________________________________

4. Some bats can fish._________________________________________________

5. Bee bats are cute.___________________________________________________

6. Leaf-nosed bats are cool._____________________________________________

7. The Carlsbad Caverns are pretty.______________________________________

8. Many bats live in caves._____________________________________________

9. It would be fun to see in the dark.______________________________________

10. Bats are nocturnal._________________________________________________

11. Bats have fingers and thumbs.________________________________________

12. Bats are ugly._____________________________________________________

13. Bats are the best kind of mammal._____________________________________

14. There are many kinds of bats.________________________________________

15. All bats carry disease.______________________________________________Bats: Jaa' aban¶ Naaldlooshii dah yikahj¶ bit’a’ hºlºn¶g¶¶ 36

FRIEND OR FOE

Read the information below. Fill in the blanks.

Do you think bats are friends or foes? Many people fear them, but they are really helpful. If there were no bats, there would be too many insects. Did you know that a Little Brown Bat can eat 150 insects in 15 minutes, or 500 to 600 hundred tiny mosquitoes in one hour?

Bats are very helpful to farmers. Hungry, plant eating insects can destroy a farmers crops. Bats eat grasshoppers,beetles, moths, and other insects. Farmers like bats to stay around their crops.

1. How do insects kill plants?___________________________________________

2. How do bats help farmers?_______________________________________

3. What kinds of insects do bats like to eat?_________________________________

4. How many insects can a Little Brown Bat eat in one hour?___________________

5. Do you think that bats are friends are foes?_______________________________

6. Why do you think this?______________________________________________

6. Draw a picture of your favorite kind of bat.


BAT RESEARCH

Choose your favorite bat to study. Answer the questions below.

What is the name of your bat?___________________________________________

Is your bat a megabat or a microbat?______________________________________

What does your bat eat?________________________________________________

How does your bat go about finding food?_________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

Where does this bat live?_______________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

Does this bat hibernate?________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

List the interesting facts that you have learned about your bat. _________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

Use this information above to help you write a research report. Draw pictures to go along with your report.


CARLSBAD CAVERNS

Located in the Guadalupe Mountains of New Mexico, Carlsbad Caverns is a wonderland of stalagmites and stalactites. The deepest portion of the cavern that is accessible to the public extends 830 feet (253 meters) below the surface. the temperature of the cavern remains a consistent 56 degrees Fahrenheit (14 degrees Celsius) year-round.

The beautiful formations within Carlsbad Caverns were formed as drops of water seeped through cracks in the ground. The water passed over limestone causing it to dissolve. As particles of limestone were carried by the water into the cavern below, they were deposited in the form of calcite creating cave decorations that resemble curtains, columns, domes, and other interesting formations.

Stalactites are calcite deposited that suspend from the ceiling of the cave. Stalagmites extend up from the floor of the cave as calcite deposits dripped down with the water. To help your students remember the meaning of these two words, teach them this saying, “Stalactites stick tight to the ceiling,” and “Stalagmites might someday reach the ceiling.” Visitors to the cavern can, on three different tours of the cave, to see these amazing mineral configurations.

Carlsbad Caverns is home to as many as one million bats from early spring to October. During the day, these nocturnal creatures sleep in an area of the cavern referred to as the bat cave. Three hundred bats often crowd together in one square foot of space. Each evening at sundown hundreds of thousands of adult bats leave the cave in search of food. The departure of the bats can last anywhere from twenty minutes to two hours and can be viewed by visitors from an amphitheater outside the cave’s entrance. The bat cave itself is only open to scientists for research.

Mexican free-tailed bats are the most prevalent bats in Carlsbad Caverns. They feed on insects and use echolocation to catch their prey. The bats from Carlsbad Caverns consume approximately 3,000 pounds of insects every single night by flying out into the southwestern desert areas surrounding the cave. Mexican free-tailed bats are gray or brown in color. they have long, narrow wings and a thin tail that dangles below their bodies.

Sadly, the Mexican free-tailed bat population has been decreasing in numbers over the past few years. Carlsbad Caverns use to have as many as 8 million Mexican free-tailed bats but now is home to only 250,00 thousand bats.


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1. Barbour, R. W., and Davis, W. H. Bats of America 1969; repr. 1979 2. Hill, J. H., and Smith, J. D. Bats, A Natural History, University of Texas Press 1984

3. Leen, Nina and Novick, Alvin. The World of Bats , 1970

4. Mohr, Charles E. The World of the Bat, 1976 5. Yalden, D. W., and Morris, P. A. The Lives of Bats, 1976

6. Laycock, George E. Bats in the Night, Four Winds, 1981

7. Schlein, Miriam. Billions of Bats, Harper, 1982

8. Best Friends Magazine. Loosing Their Hang-ups About Bats, 1995

9. Fenton, Brock M. Bats, Harper 1992

= thematical based tie-ins: Navajo culture and other cultures, language, art, reading, health, writing, science, social studies and biology. Poooossssssssiiiibbbblllleeee qqqquuuueeeessssttttiiiioooonnnnssss ttttoooo aaaasssskkkk::::

1. What do bats do for us? 2. How do they help us? 3. Is the bat evil? 4. Why are some people afraid of bats? 5. Can bats carry disease? 6. Why are pictures of bats used at Halloween time? 7. How many insects can a bat eat in an hour? 8. What kind of bat eats insects? 9. What is a fruit bat? 10. How do they help fruit trees? 11. What is a colony of bats? 12. How does a bat rest?13. What does the bat mean to different cultures?14. Why do you think they made a cartoon character called "Batman."15. There are different expressions people use, such as saying, "having bats in the belfry" how do you think these expressions developed?16. Why should we know these things?17. Does a bat have hands?18. Where are the fingers of a bat located?19. What does the fourth and fifth fingers help to do?20. What bat lives in caves and can have 5 million or more per colony?21. What is the largest bat of North America?22. What is a cz¢che?23. What bat is considered to be the most primitive? 24. Where does this bat live?25. Is a bat a bird?26. How do bats feed their young?27. What was a pterosaur?28. What does a bat look like when it is roosting?29. Do all bats live in colonies?30. Why is a baby bat born rump first? What is this called?


31. Do bats build nests?32. If a bat were sick, how would it act?33. How do insect eating bats locate their prey?34. Are bats important to people of other cultures?35. What is rabies?36. How do bats catch insects once they have located them?37. How many different species of bats are there in the world?38. What bat feeds only on blood?39. How does this blood feeding bat approach its prey?


Vocabulary words found in Bats, Our Winged Mammals, with the English/Navajo words added for cultural enrichment. Please find the definition for each word, using it in a sentence. Study the Navajo word.

1. bat jaa' aban¶

2. echolocation ¡n¶inii bichª' an¡hodziiltsª•h

3. roosting han¡lyªªh

4. insect ch'osh 5. timid ayahooliih

6. gregariousa¬ hi¬naaldeeh

7. little brown bat jaa' aban¶ dib¢ ¬ich¶'¶ y¡zh¶

8. territorial yaahºchª'

9. roost tsidii yih¡¡’ han¶n¡lyªh

10. self-defense ¡ch££h naagh¡

11. navigate bee bi¬ b¢¢hºzin

12. Zoologist Naaldlooshii yaa'º¬t¡

13. larynx y¡shti'

14. female little brown bat jaa'aban¶ ¡adii dib¢¬ch¶'¶g¶¶

15. scorpions s¢¶go'

16. spiders na'ashj¢'ii

17. fish ¬ºº'


18. lizards na'ash≠'ii

19. rodents tsin deigh¡zhii

20. birds ts¶dii

21. tree frog ch'a¬ tsin y™™hnaaldeeh¶

22. vampire bat jaa' aban¶ ats'––s¶

23. flowers ch'il l¡tahºzhººn

24. pollinate t¡d¶d¶¶n ¡yii¬'••h

25. plant ch'il

26. fruit tsin bineest'™'

27. sprout i'd¶n¶is£, ad¶n¢es£

28. tongue atsoo'

29. carnivorous naaldlooshii ats•'yiy¡n¶g¶¶

30. reptiles na'ash≠'ii

31. fruit bat jaa' aban¶ tsin bineest'™' yiy¡n¶g¶¶g¶¶

32. cattle b¢¢gashii 33. brown bat jaa' aban¶ ¬ich¶'¶

34. big brown bat jaa' aban¶ ¬ich¶'¶tsoh

35. colonies dah yin¢¢¬

36. parasite doo yit'¶inii ch'osh yah d¢esd¡h¶


37. hibernate haigo noo' n¶daakah¶g¶¶

38. migration nizhd¶'n¢¢h n¶dadi'n¢¢h

39. migrate t¡d¶n¢¢h


Dear Parent,

We are currently working on a thematic unit dealing with the RUFF Program in attempting to integrate learning by providing you with discussion topics for home to school transfer.

1. Ask your child, are you afraid of bats? Why?

2. Do you know what the disease rabies is? Do you know how you can get rabies?

3. What is the "neatest" thing you know about bats?

4. Do you know of any bats in in your area?

5. Is it O.K. to kill a bat?

Please talk about these issues this week. If you have any questions please feel free to ask me.

Sincerely,

Your child's teacherBats: Jaa' aban¶ Naaldlooshii dah yikahj¶ bit’a’ hºlºn¶g¶¶ 46

BATS: OUR WINGED MAMMALS - Desert Animal Companions

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