When visiting many of the islands in Panama one can find a number of species of bats. Currently, the Island of Barro Colorado has registered the presence of an amazing number of these fascinating  mammals. Experts say that there are more than 1,100 species to be found in the world.

Barro Colorado Island

Barro Colorado Island is located in the middle of the Panama Canal, and has 5,364 hectars in which 74 species of bats inhabit its tropical forest. The forest maintains and depends on the vast diversity of animals there. For example: bats spread seeds and pollen and are food for other wild animals such as monkeys, owls, hawks, other bats and even for large spiders.

In the case of the Greater Fishing Bat, which you can see in Barro Colorado, it has claws like daggers and pockets in the interior of its cheeks where it carries fish that it will not eat during flight. You will also find certain nectarivorous bats have bristly tongues and an indented chin, which allows them to collect pollen and nectar when they stick their snout into the flowers of fruit trees.

The traits of Bats

The characteristics of bats can vary depending on each species. Some of them are:

·         Thin and long wings are appropriate for bats that fly high.

·         Compact and arched wings for rapid turns for bats that fly between trees.

·         Their fur can be shinny red or yellow and some also have pink wings.

·         Lifespan of more than 34 years.

·         They communicate and detect obstacles in the dark with sounds.

·         Bats can live anywhere in the world, expect in deserts and the polar zones.

The Northern Ghost Bat in Panama

The Northen Ghost Bat, also known as the Jumby Bat, (Diclidurus albus) is a white bat that inhabits the forests of Mesoamerica, and South America, including Panama. This specimen of bat, which is scarcely seen, has been observed in seven different places in Panama: Gamboa, Albrook, Rodman, David, Tole and Boquete. Experts say that these bats fly very high over the top of the trees to capture its prey- flying nocturnal insects.

Another kind of white bat is the Honduran White Bat (Ectophylla alba), which rests during the day in plantain leaves that grow in the rainforests of Central America. In Panama they have only been registered in the rainforests of Bocas del Toro and its considered an endemic or unique species of Central America.