Case study: Bats

Bats are nocturnal animals. They can live in different environments but they need a place to roost.
The roost is the place where they spend the day and where they hibernate. You can find bat
roosts in caves, trees and inside empty buildings.
Most bats eat insects. A bat is able to eat one-third of its body weight in insects every night.
This means it eats several hundred insects in a few hours.
Some bats eat fruit. Vampire bats feed on blood.
Bats hunt for food at night. This means there is less competition for food since other animals
that eat insects or fruit hunt during the day.
Bats use sound to fly safely and find their prey. They make very high-pitched sounds which
humans cannot hear.
The main predators of bats are falcons and hawks.
Bats have light bones with webbing between which allows them to fly. They sleep upside down
and fold their wings to cover themselves.
In late autumn it gets colder and there are no longer insects and fruit for the bats to eat.
At this time of year bats look for a suitable place to hibernate. They often migrate long distances
to find the right place. The bats hibernate for up to six months. Their body functions slow down
so much that some bats only take one breath every two hours! They hibernate in groups with
many bats holding on to each other. This huddling behaviour helps to keep the bats warm.
Sometimes there are a million bats in one big cave.

CAMBRIDGE PRIMARY SCIENCE 5 UNIT 6: SEASONS AND ADAPTATIONS OF PLANTS AND ANIMALS

Cambridge Primary Science 5 – Fiona Baxter & Liz Dilley © Cambridge University Press 2021 6
1 Complete the following sentences. The missing words are highlighted in the case study.
a An animal that hunts and kills another animal for food is a _______________________.
b An animal that is hunted and killed by a predator is a _______________________.
c An animal that is active at night is _______________________.
d The place where bats sleep is called a _______________________.
e The thin skin between a bat’s bones is called _______________________.
f Bats keep warm in big groups by _______________________.
g Animals that are inactive for a long time during winter _______________________.
h An animal that travels a long distance to find food or a resting place or breeding place
_______________________ .
2 Name three foods that bats eat.

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3 What adaptation do bats have to fly safely and to find food?

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