Populations of some North American insectivorous bats are known to have declined markedly in many areas over the past 20 years or more ... The causes… - Merlin Tuttle

Bats are among the few true hibernators. The breathing of a hibernating bat is imperceptible. Its heartbeat drops from roughly 400 beats per minute when awake to about 25 in hibernation. The body temperature often falls to within a tenth of a degree of surrounding cave walls.

It's very simple: We fear most what we understand the least.

More than 1,100 kinds of bats amount to approximately a quarter of all species, and they are found everywhere except in the most extreme desert and polar regions. Some 47 species live in the United States and Canada, but the majority inhabit s where, in total number of species, they sometimes outnumber all other mammals combined.
Bats come in an amazing variety of sizes and appearances. The world's smallest mammal, the of Thailand, weighs less than a , but some es of the Old World tropics have wingspans of up to 6 feet. The big-eyed, winsome expressions of flying foxes often surprise people who never have thought that a bat could be attractive.