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Great Writing - Home > For Kids > Who Sleeps the Most? - A factual poem and much more.
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For Children
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| Who Sleeps the Most? - A factual poem and much more. | |
| By Josie | ||||||||||||||||||
| 19 July 2008 | ||||||||||||||||||
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I hope you find this interesting, both young and old, and hope that you can learn some interesting facts about this animal. I'd love to hear stories of the bats in your phttp://www.bats.org.uk/art of the world. See this website: http://www.bio.bris.ac.uk/research/bats/britishbats/ British bats are protected by law because they have declined dramatically. Don't let your children grow up to be afraid of bats. They are not a nuisance or to be feared but an important part of our natural environment. Who sleeps the most? Go on, make a guess. Is it a tiger, a mouse or a cat? It’s a little brown animal that flies round at night. Were you right? It’s the little brown bat.* With a glossy brown coat and wings that are brown, Sharp little teeth and small ears, They sleep when the rest of us go out to work But at sunset it’s then they appear. Bats are not dangerous. They’re sweet little things, That live with their families together. They come out at night to look for their meals Whatever the state of the weather. They dine upon insects on warm summer nights. Across the dark skies they all sweep, But in winter you’ll find them curled up in their homes Deep in their long winter’s sleep. * The Little Brown Bat (sometimes called little brown myotis) is one of the most common bats of North America, a species of the genus Myotis (mouse-eared bats), found throughout the world. TWENTY FACTS ABOUT BATS 1 The name “bat” comes from old Norse “ledhrblaka” meaning leather flapper. The word then changed to “bakker” and then to “bat”. 2 Bats conserve energy by spending most of their time sleeping – about 20 out of the 24 hours a day They sleep upside down, usually packed together with their friends in large colonies in trees or caves. Human beings, as we know, like 7 or 8 hours of sleep, preferably in a warm, comfortable bed. 3 The little brown bat (sometimes called little brown myotis) is one of the most common bats of North America. (This relates to the very sleepy bat in the poem). 4 The long eared bat wraps its ears around itself like an extra blanket whereas we like our blankets and duvets etc. 5 Bats are unique creatures, and not to be feared at all. They are not rodents, as many people think – not flying mice or rats, but are a separate species of mammal. 6 Although many bats live on insects, there are a few that will eat lizards, frogs, fish and even birds. 7 Vampire bats are found in Mexico, Central and South America. Vampire bats feed on the blood of cattle, horses etc and are not interested in human blood. They do not suck blood, as some people think. They use their sharp teeth to make an incision in the skin and drink the blood as it oozes out. Their saliva contains an anticoagulant that helps prevent clotting. They are kind bats and will risk their lives to save others and will adopt orphaned pups. 8 Some male bats sing to their ladyloves. How romantic! 9 The bones in a bat’s wings are very similar to the four bones found in the human hand. 10 Bats are extremely clean and spend a lot of their waking time grooming themselves. 11 Bats have been in existence for over 50 million years, and their individual lifespan is roughly 20 years though some live to be 30 years of age. 12 Contrary to the popular belief that bats are blind, they are not, and although they can see quite well, they tend to see in shades of grey. 13 Bats talk to each other and find their away around by high frequency sonic sounds. 14 People think that bats are carriers of rabies. In fact they don’t carry rabies any more than any other wild animal and the incidence of rabies amongst bats is rather low. 15 There are over 900 species of bats worldwide. 16 They are the slowest reproducing mammal for their size. Most species of bat only give birth to one pup per year, but some give birth to three or four. 17 They start their lives as we do, being fed on milk. 18 Bats range in weight from .07 ounces to 3 lbs and the smallest bat is called the bumblebee bat because they are no larger than the bumblebee you see in your garden. It is the smallest animal in the world. It lives in Thailand and South East Burma where it lives in caves of limestone hills. It is also known as Kitti’s Hog Nosed Bat. 19 The largest bat is the Indian Flying Fox Bat which likes to live in tropical or subtropical jungle. This is a very large bat with a fox-like head, large eyes, two claws on its wings, and no tail. With a wingspan of up to 5 ft this is one of the largest of the 67 species of flying foxes. They hang from the trees, chattering together in the day time and at night time they like to eat fruit, but prefer the juice and tend to spit out the pulp. 20 Bats are the only true flying mammal. NOW TEST YOURSELF Do you think you know all about bats? Try this simple test and please report back honestly! http://www.batconservation.org/content/Kidsandbats.html It's only a test for children, so I'm sure you'll pass with flying colours.
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