There are still people who think bats are some kind of nocturnal birds. Not so, they are the only existing flying mammals. Recent discoveries place them even much closer to the monkey family (and hence to us) than formerly was thought possible. All bats are night creatures. In daytime they rest, hanging upside down in caves or abandoned attics. On the Antilles various species do appear which can be divided in roughly three groups: insectivores, nectar-eating and fruit-eating bats. The insectivores are the bats one sees constantly flitting through the air in the evenings. They are very skillful in decimating all kinds of harmful insects. These are the species in which the echolocation system has been highly developed. They emit inaudible high piercing tones which rebound against the environment. By the pattern of the reflected sound waves the bats know their surroundings and in this sophisticated sonar way they can locate their prey. The speed and precision of this system exceeds that of any man made machine. With such a sophisticated sonar system no one should ever be afraid of a bat tangling in one's hair! They are far to smart for that! The nectar sucking bats (as in the picture) are of great importance to our island. At night they sip nectar out of the flowers of nocturnal flowering plants. As these include most of our column cacti they are important for the pollination of these plants. Investigations have shown that for the survival of these cacti the bats are indispensable. Without bats no cacti, and without cacti no birds, as in the dry season the cactus fruits are a main staple of their diet, This is a perfect example of the interdependence of all living creatures in an ecosystem. The fruit eating bats are important for seed dispersion. When they eat the cactus fruits they also ingest the seeds which they carry with them and will drop in a particular place. That may mean the birth of a new cactus in that spot. Many nectar sucking bats eat fruit during the dry season.
