Meet the white stick of Honduras, a little beauty that lives in the jungles of Central America.
They are also known as white sticks with ten Caribbean products or cotton swabs, and reach only a maximum size of about 5 cm.
They can be found roosting under the Heliconia plant leaves which is where the name ‘tent-making bat’ came from.
Most of them spend their lives under these leaves, as they are vegetarians, and chew on the rim of the leaf for nutrition.
One of these roosts houses around 7 bats, who are frequently seen cuddling up to each other.
The Honduran white bat is near threatened, meaning they are getting more difficult to spot in the wild.
Supreet Sahoo, a great wildlife photographer, captured these amazing images; follow him on Instagram and Facebook.
Check out these ten startling facts about the mysterious Honduran White Bats, often known as Ghost Bats.
The Honduran White Bat is one of the world’s rarest bat species, and its unique features set it apart in the Bat world.
It’s quite lovely, and when you sleep with it, it looks like a fluffy white cotton ball coiled up in your palm.
Here are nine more fascinating facts about the Honduran White Bat.
1. What do Honduran white bats look like?
Look at this lovely bat that doesn’t look like any other bat you have seen. This bite-sized bat has a sparkling white coat, recognizable yellow ears that look like leaves, and a bright leaf or horn-shaped nose. The Honduran white bat could easily be mistaken for a cuddly mascot and it really comes as a surprise that it’s not more well known. Only one other species of bats have a white coat so it really is special. The color of its coat is not just ascetically pleasing but has a practical use too.
2. How big is the Honduran white bat?
Never mind handbag Chihuahuas, this tiny fellow could fit in the palm of your hand. The Honduran white bat is one of the smallest in the world and usually measures between just 3.7cm to 4.7cm in length. Blink and you could miss it.
3. What do Honduran white bats eat?
Naked that is vegan.
Despite its scary appearance, this incredibly charming night owl is a refrigerator, which means it eats mostly fruit and will not suck our blood. I love figs, especially those from the Ficus Colubrinae tree (special fig), and can only survive on them. No wonder these little boys are so cute. The yellow color of the ears, nose and wings of the white Honduran bat, according to scientists, can be attributed to the extraordinary intake of bats from these fruits and the resulting carotenoids inside the ears, nose and wings.
4. Where does the Honduran white bat live?
These bats live in the tropical wetlands of the South American sub-continent and are commonly found in Costa Rica, Honduras, and Nicaragua. They are nocturnal and while these tiny critters may seem like ideal pets, needing little space and care, they would most likely die outside their very particular natural habitat. Human urban development is one of the biggest threats to these lovely creatures with the resulting degradation in their habitat.
5. The Honduran white bat AKA The Caribbean white tent-bat
These bats love a bit of camping but not in the traditional sense. They are often referred to as the Caribbean White tent-making bat, for their ‘tent’-making skills. The bats create a ‘tent’ by cutting the Heliconia palm leaves with their teeth and make an inverted V-shaped canopy. The Honduran white bats then hang themselves in clusters, sometimes as many as twelve bats are under one leaf. They make many of these homes in their colonies to accommodate them and even use a few for feeding. Don’t worry about them falling and hurting themselves, as they are only a few feet from the ground. These tropical plants also aid with coverage, hiding them in the lush rainforest growth, protecting them from inclement weather.
6. The Honduran white bat is a protected species
Let’s do everything we can to assist them succeed. Unfortunately, there are no specific figures on how few of these unique bats exist in the wild, but they are considered a near-threatened species and are extremely susceptible to extinction. There are currently no dedicated conservation initiatives for them, but you can help fund attempts to create one by clicking here.
7. How long do the Honduran white bats live?
These bats live between 15-20 years and their gestation period is approximately three weeks, only one baby is born with each pregnancy. Not a lot is known about how these bats reproduce yet but we know they are social animals. They huddle and hang together in kinship groups under their tented leaves. Just like horses do, all the bat pups are conceived and born within the same week.
8. The Honduran white bat is a master at camouflaging itself
These bats appear to be easy prey for local predators due to their brilliant white coats. Their unique woolly coat, on the other hand, may be mistaken for a wasp’s nest, scaring away any serious hunters. Furthermore, their fur mixes into the surroundings, taking on a greenish tint when the sun shines on their home leaves or looking transparent beneath the sun, successfully concealing them. They must remain extremely motionless and do so frequently in order to remain undetected.
9. The Honduran white bat has a unique way of seeing
It uses echolocation by listening to the sound waves it produces by bouncing high-pitched calls off its surroundings. They then use these waves to create a detailed and compelling picture of their environment. It uses its nose to make the sound and scientists think that its flexible nose structure helps the Honduran white bat to echolate more efficiently.
10. Other reasons why the Honduran white bat is unique to other bats
Unlike most other bats, these unusual creatures do not live in caves, do not fly very far, and keep to an incredibly small square mile range.
0 Comments