Cleveland County herald., 1920-11-04
Live in Extensive Caverns, From 10000 to 15,000 in a
 Group.
IMPORTANT ECONOMIC VALUE
Scientist Finds Twenty Different Vari. etfes-Some Kill Insects and Arc Useful to Man-Others De-
 stroy Fruit.

Ind; es wtere he spent four montlIs OF scientific expedition, H. E. An thony, associate curator of mammals at lhe Museum of Natural History, brought back with him many fine speci' mems of bats, which are numerous on that and other islands in the West 1 Indies.
 '"The only mammals native to the islands today" Mir. Anthony said, "are twenty species of bats and one species of rodent. These different bats range in slze from small bats, with a wing spread of six inches, up to very large bats, with wing spread of from twen- ty-eight to thirty inches"
 People in the United States, where bats are comparatively rare animals, 1 have no idea of the variety and abun- dance of them in such place as Ja- maica, or of the important economic value of the bat. They are either in- sect-eating or feed on fruits. The in- sect-eating varieties are small for the most part, and have considerable val- ue as insect destroyers. They feed on mosquitoes and on a great varietyi of winged insect life, many of which are obnoxious to man or injurious to 1 agriculture.
 Homes in Caves.
 The island Is composed largely Of limestone, and caves are of frequent occurrence, and these caves are the abode of by far the greater part oil the bat population. Many caves are small, but not infrequently caves are found which are several miles in length. Some such have great sub lerranean chambers through which, rivers run, passing completely underI some small mountain chain; others! have series of ntercommunicatings chambers through which q person mayI walk for hours without retracing his steps. If is in such places that innu merable hosts Of these peculiar ami mals may be found, and it is no exag geration to estimate their numbers ifs 1 a single large cave as 10000 or 15,000s individuals
 When a person enters such a cavel and disturbs the inmates a scene of wild confusion enSHes, in which yer itabe whirlWinG of flying rorms mays deluga the intruder and rush abouts through every part of the cave To one1 to whom a bat is a repulsive and dia } boical creature such an intimacy5 would be highly distasteful, but to oneI who understands the bat it is a mosil Interesting experience. Such a meet ing affords an opportunity for an int mate insight into the animals homo life. While the flight of the bat unde, normal circumstances is perfectly noiseless, in such chambers in whichs thousands of individuals are flyinel wildly about the noise of their wingsI sounds like a great wind storm.
 In the caves are great piles of \ guano deposited by the bats. These' deposits sometimes are IS or 20 feet thick and are valuable as fertilizer; It is used by natives on fields. In a good cave many tons may be taken out without eXhausting the supply There are species of bats, such as the fruit eating, which are not so useful to man. Some of the larger bats belong to this gpOup They come out of their homes an hour before dark and fly about fruit trees, searching for ripe fruit They eat a great variety of fruits depend ing on the season and locality. They eat bananas, naseberries, sweetsop, ripe coffee berries, rose-apples and many other varieties.
 Fish-Eatinq Bat.
 If the fruit is small they cut it loose and fly away with it, but if it is large they cling to it and eat it on the tree. Some of the smaller fruit-eat- ing bats are very highly developed for the purpose of living off fruits, and some have very long tongues; one such variety with body not larger than two and half or three inches has a tongue which may be protruded an inch and half beyond the nose. A peculiar specimen is the so-called fish eating bat, which has been observed at dusk flying low over the water and sweeping from the surface minute cruStaceans and marine forms.
 Enemies of bats are owls which catch fruit-eating bats and the large snake boa. or lHP w 6SU IlOleS. bsttS are social in habit and not solitary. and they have peculiar sooeal char acteristics If four different varieties If bats are found in a cave, each kind keeps to it's own group and does not fraternize with others. The same is true of sex Clusters of males are in one group and clusters of females in another. Bats are nervous creatures highly strung, and acute of hearing. They are among the oldest living man. mals. Bats, those who have studied them say, do not get tangled in one's hair, and they will not attack one, yet if grabbed they will bite, and the larger bats have sharp teeth. There are more than 1000 different varieties of bats in the world. The two major groups are divided into in- sectivores and the laEge fruit-eating bats.