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Show 322 THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE A BAT WITH EARS UNROLLED AS IT AWAKENS When the bat is cold and torpid in hibernation its ears are coiled up at the sides of the head. This one is warming up in the sunlight and the ears are slowly uncoiling (see, also, text, page 329). Photographs by Vernon Bailey BAT HELD IN FRONT OF CAMERA TO SHOW THE EARS The antitragus, a slender filament inside of the ear, is supposed to be a delicate instrument for catching waves of sound or motion. It is not improbable that bats are as necessary as birds in preserving that balance of Nature which renders this earth a reasonably comfortable habitation for man. On close acquaintance, bats are found to be intelligent animals w i th very interesting habits. They are cleanly and not more subject to parasites than other animals. The chinchbug sometimes carried by them is not the species which infests our houses and causes so much annoyance. There is no record of bats ever becoming entangled in the hair of anyone, and nothing could be further from their habits or inclinations. They will bite and fight savagely in self-defense, if captured and held against their will, but if handled gently they are quiet and intelligent, and in captivity soon learn to w a t ch for the hand that feeds them. MOTHER BAT CARRIES HER YOUNG IN FLIGHT Most species of North American bats have but one young a year, born in June and carried about by the mother until old enough to fly and catch its own food. The young are very large at birth, in some species weighing a quarter as m u c h as the mother. They have no i.ests, but as the mother hangs head downward, by her hooked hind claws, the young cling to her body or are folded under her wings, where the two nipples are conveniently |
