Cute Bat - Blog Posts
Here is the third design in my birthday party animals sticker set! You know that in every design series that I make, I have to put a bat in somewhere. 😆👌 If you would like this little guy as a sticker of your own, check out my shop (Jazzleeillustrates on Etsy, or follow the Linktree in my bio)!
Surprise! 🐭🦇🐁🐭🦇🐁🐭🦇 I got acrylic keychains made of two of my favorite designs! It has been a while since I have had anything manufactured, so I am very happy to be offering these now. If you would like one of your own, check out my shop link below!
https://jazzleeillustrates.etsy.com
((Sorry I’ve been away for so long! I’m moved back in and I’m working on my whole “adult” thing. But I’ll be back to answering you’re guys’ asks soon! In the mean time, enjoy these doodles/test/references I did on “my” tablet now that I have it again!))
this has to be the most adorable bat to ever exist
look at its little snout. i wanna boop it so bad
Hello, I'm the Easter Bunny! Er... what? Bunnies have wings, right? Since they lay eggs, right...?
Virginia Big-eared Bat (Corynorhinus townsendii virginianus)
Kentucky, North Carolina, West Virginia, and Virginia, USA
Status: Endangered
...they're the size of an average adult human's thumb. their entire body is thumb sized. ...
aaaaaaaaaaa I would be petrified. worried that even breathing too hard could injure the bat.
Eastern Small-footed bat, via
those feet arent the only thing that's small that's for sure <3
I’ve always in wondered what it must look like when the fliers try to traverse areas that they can’t fly in, like the tunnels in the Dead Land or the halls of the palace, and. Um.
I hope it looks like this.
Thumbless Bat Skull (Furipterus horrens)
Since there weren’t many good reference photos of the thumbless bat available (a tragedy!!), I took a shot at its bizarre-looking skull. Evolution has done to many bats what man has cruelly wrought on domestic dogs- though the difference is that it actually works for the bats.
The thumbless bat, as you might imagine from looking at this skull, has a very squished-in face, with fur and skin obscuring the extreme bend above the eyes. This might aid it in echolocation by turning its head into a radar dish, similar to an owl’s. There are definitely a lot of bats that seem to have converged on the flattened-face design. But that isn’t an Official Scientist’s Opinion, just mine.
I should mention that despite their common name, thumbless bats actually DO have thumbs, just reduced ones with tiny, functionless claws. This brings up the question of how they crawl, since most bats use their thumbs like pitons while moving around on their roosts. The answer may be that they just don’t crawl that much- a creature thoroughly adapted to life in the air.
Another fun fact about thumbless bats: their nipples are located on their abdomen, rather than under their armpits like most bats. This means the babies have to orient themselves head-up on their mothers (who are hanging upside-down, of course) to nurse. But how do they do this without functional thumbs to hold on with? I have so many questions that the internet cannot answer.
Finally, please enjoy this thumbless bat art by famed naturalist Ernst Haeckel, circa 1904:
Silver Haired bat, via
yoooooooo, that face. Think maybe that fruit they imbibed in was a bit too fermented?
Maximized Goober
This shy straw-colored fruit bat kept snatching fruit off the table and scuttling back underneath to eat it. (Photo by Nano Maus)
aw, nice, thanks for the bat friend!
Also, to add to the cool bat facts listed above... https://batworld.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/free-tails-smell-like-tacos.pdf
May I humbly request a bat friend?
Happy Bat Week!
Your bat is the Mexican Free-Tailed Bat (Tadarida brasiliensis)!
Oh gosh. This bat, man. One of the most agriculturally important species in the U.S. These guys live in MASSIVE colonies in the southern U.S.; there are 1.5 million living under Congress Ave Bridge in Austin, Texas and another 20 million (YEAH. TWENTY MILLION HOLY CRAP.) living in Bracken Cave, which is considered to be the largest colony of bats of any species living anywhere in the world. BONKERS. Not only do these bats live in huge colonies, but they are also the fastest flying animals, clocking in at just under 100mph (hawks only reach the speeds they do by diving; these bats reach 100mph USING ACTUAL MECHANICAL FLIGHT. DO YOU REALIZE HOW BONKERS THAT IS?????). During birthing season, mothers will leave their massive roosts to go hunt insects. They will fly up to 50km away to hunt. When they return, they are able to find their pups in a crowd of literal millions by the sounds of their voices. Do you know what a huge colony in a cave also means? Guano. Lots of it. And you know what guano means? High levels of ammonia. In a cave. The levels are so high that you physically cannot enter Bracken Cave without a respirator. So how do the bats survive? WELL. They have evolved to be able to change the amounts of CO2 in their blood via respiratory mucous to protect against blood pH changes. AND!!!!!!!!! THEY KNOW HOW TO VENTILATE THEIR CAVES. They fly in a circular motion as they leave and enter the cave to move the air and ventilate out some of the ammonia.