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Bat
Any of various nocturnal flying mammals of
the order
Chiroptera, having membranous wings that extend from the forelimbs
to the hind limbs or tail and anatomical adaptations for
echolocation, by
which they navigate and hunt prey.
The common bat is small
and insectivorous, but in the tropics some bats are huge. The flying
foxes of the Malay region may have a wingspread of 5 feet (1.5 meters).
These and other large tropical bats are fruit eaters and do great damage to
crops.
Vampire bats are
common in parts of Central and South America but are never found in the
United
States. They puncture the skins of animals and sleeping humans and lap up
blood as it oozes out. For some unknown reason this process is painless, and
the victim is usually unaware of it. Some vampire bats spread disease among
cattle and horses. These bats get their name from the legendary vampires,
which were believed to come out of their graves at night to suck blood from
the living.
Perhaps because of their nocturnal habits and the ability
to navigate in the dark, or maybe because they seem both animal and bird,
bats have been linked with supernatural forces and the occult in many parts of the world.
There are countless superstitions, fallacies and legends about these flying
mammals.
There is an Oriental belief that the bat is specially adapted
to occult uses, and certain groups in
South America believe the Devil
appears in bat form. In medieval Europe, it was assumed that witches
used the blood of bats as one of the ingredients in their flying ointment
and their
magic charms
and love potions. Throughout history, bats have routinely been considered to
be
familiars or even the alter egos of witches,
and in 1332 France, Lady Jacaume of Bayonne was publicly burned because
'crowds of bats' were seen about her house and garden.
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