Are Bats Actually Poisonous? The Truth About Bat Toxicity Explained in One Article

Bats are the only mammals that have evolved true powered flight, and in people's minds they are always associated with horror and ferocity. In some literary and film works they often appear as blood-sucking, man-eating creatures, which leads people to feel disgust and aversion toward them. Below, let us take a look at whether bats are actually poisonous!

Are bats poisonous?

Bats are not poisonous, but bats do carry at least 14 viruses that can infect humans or animals, including rabies, Hendra virus, Nipah virus, and Hantavirus, among others. Nipah virus in particular kills more than 50% of the people it infects. As for viruses carried by bats, it has been confirmed in recent years that there have been at least two outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases: one in Australia, where Hendra virus was first transmitted from bats to horses and then to humans; the other in Malaysia, where Nipah virus was transmitted from bats to pigs and then to humans.

What do bats eat?

Bats have quite a broad diet, including fruit, fish, pollen, and even blood. Some species favor nectar and fruit, some like to eat fish, frogs, and insects, some species feed on animal blood, and some species even eat other bats. Generally speaking, large bats (megabats) mainly feed on fruit or nectar, while most small bats (microbats) mainly prey on insects.

Are bats harmful?

Bats prey on large numbers of pests and are beneficial to humans, so they deserve protection. Bats are skilled at flying in the air and play a very important role in maintaining the ecological balance of the natural world. Various insect-eating bats can eliminate large numbers of pests such as mosquitoes, noctuid moths, scarab beetles, and nun moths, and can catch and eat more than 3000 in a single night, which is beneficial to humans. Moreover, the droppings that bats accumulate are also a very good fertilizer and are useful for agricultural production. At the same time, processed bat droppings are a type of traditional Chinese medicine, known as "yeming sha" (bat dung).