Animal Eyes | Ghost Bat | White furry bat is found in tropical rain forests ranging from Mexico to Brazil, and also on the island of Trinidad, the Caribbean. These are solitary animals that spend the daytime nesting under palm leaves, and then flew high in the night, hunting moths and other flying insects.
Roosts can be found in caves, deep rock crevices, and old mines. Although ghost bats prefer to roost in colonies they currently only roost in small groups at best; this is due to a lack of roosting sites that support larger colonies. It is unusual for there to be a colony of more than 100 bats in one location. The average head and body measurement of a ghost bat is 100mm, each forearm also measures an average of 100mm. There is no tail and the legs are connected by a membrane to the forearms and to each other. A noseleaf is present along with large ears. There is no fur on the wings. The fur on the back is grey. White fur dominates the underbelly, the bottom of the arms, and the face (except the nose and ears where there is no fur).
Ghost bats are the only bats in Australia that are carnivores. The diet of a ghost bat consists of other bats, small mammals, larger insects, birds, and frogs. Ghost bats are quick when descending on prey and uses powerful jaws to kill it. Once the prey has expired, the ghost bat will take it to another location to eat it. Prey can be found through sight and sound (particularly echoes).
Males and females live in separate colonies during breeding season. Females can only give birth to one young each year which is usually born sometime between July and September. Milk is given to the young until they can eat meat, at that time the mother catches prey and feeds it to the baby.