Did you know that bats have fur to help keep them warm in cold weather? Click on the icons below to learn where bats live, what they eat, how they hunt and how they reproduce. You can even pet a bat in Zoobooks Virtual Zoo!

Most people have never seen a bat up close, yet bats are everywhere. What makes them so mysterious? Bats are nocturnal, which means they hunt at night and sleep during the day. They roost in dark, hidden places, making them hard to find and harder to study. But what we do know about bats is fascinating—they are the only mammals to have left the trees and learned to fly. And although their flight can be as silent as an owl's, bats are more closely related to their fellow mammals than they are to birds. As strange as bats sometimes look, they are not frightening or dangerous. They are actually quite gentle, and are a great benefit to the environment.