Cutest Bats: What Are The Cutest Bat Species In The World?

Keep reading to watch this amazing video

key point

  • Most people are afraid of bats because they love the dark and live in inaccessible places.
  • Bats are never popular, let alone called cute, and hammerhead bats are even more so.
  • Here are nine bats that will steal your heart.

For many people, the word "cute" used to describe bats doesn't count. These people may be afraid of bats because they associate them with deadly viruses, darkness or evil. Admittedly, bats are a bit of a weird animal, the only mammal capable of true flight.

Many also fly at night, and some of them are really ugly; the hammer-headed bat is one of the ugliest animals on earth, and its scientific name is Hypsignathus monstrosus . Vampire bats suck blood, but bats also eat insects, including dangerous ones such as mosquitoes, while fruit bats pollinate flowers and disperse seeds. Also, some bats are round and furry and really cute.

Here are nine of the cutest bats in the world, from least to cutest. We think we've identified the cutest bat in the world, and we hope you'll agree!

#9: Northern Ghost Bat

cutest bat, which bat species is the cutest bat in the world 1
There aren't many bats with white fur, and the northern ghost bat is one of the cutest.

© iStock.com/MalgorzataDrewniak

The northern ghost bat is one of the few white-haired bat species. This sweet little bat has long soft fur that varies from snow white to light gray and has a sac on its urine membrane, the membrane that stretches between its hind legs. It also has a vestigial thumb, which helps distinguish it from other ghostly bats. Its wing membrane is pink and it has no hair on its face. The eyes are large and the ears are short and yellow. It is a medium-sized bat, between 3.39 and 4.06 inches in length, with females being larger than males.

The northern ghost bat is an insectivore that eats moths and sings. It inhabits palm trees, caves and old mines from Central America to Brazil. Breeds every January and February.

#8: Heart Nose Bat

This adorable bat with long blue-gray fur is a serious predator because of its cuteness. It's modest in size, only 2.8 to 3.0 inches long, but has no problem taking down large prey such as lizards, frogs, mice, and rats. It will even grab smaller bats, grabbing them in mid-air and beating them to death with its wings. It can also lift off the ground and carry something nearly as heavy as it does. During the dry season, heart-nosed bats feed on beetles.

Another characteristic of this bat is that it uses singing to establish territories and, unlike other bats, it is monogamous. While women do most of the parenting, fathers' singing is thought to protect the home and territory from aggressors. In contrast to other bats, the heart-nosed bat begins foraging in the early evening, even before sunset.

Read more  10 Snakes in Florida

Heart-nosed bats live in dry lowlands, river valleys and the coast of the Horn of Africa.

#7: Small Horseshoe Bat

The little horseshoe bat is a cute bat that flies in circles.

© aaltair/Shutterstock.com

Named for the resemblance of the nose leaf on its face to a horseshoe, this small bat lives in the hills and highlands of North Africa and Europe. One of the cute things about it is its small size, as it is only 1.4 to 1.8 inches long and has a wingspan of 7.5 to 10 inches. It weighs only 0.18 to 0.32 oz. This makes it the smallest of the horseshoe bats that live in Europe.

Its fur is gray, fluffy and soft, and its large petal-shaped ears and wings are also gray-brown. It is a flexible flyer that likes to fly in circles as it picks up insects and small arthropods from rocks, branches and the air. The smaller horseshoe bats are solitary except in spawning groups.

Small horseshoe bats roost during the day in trees, burrows, hollow logs and houses, and can often be heard chattering. Its small size allows it to slide into cracks and crevices that are too tight for other bats. When it hangs upside down, its wings wrap around its body like a blanket.

#6: Small Yellow Shouldered Bat

This cute little yellow-shouldered bat is two to three inches long.

©Mendesbio/Shutterstock.com

This adorable bat is named for the yellowish fur on its shoulders. Distributed from Mexico to Argentina, mainly in Jamaica. This is an interesting bat because it usually lives alone or in small groups in trees. The tiny 2.4 to 2.8-inch bats eat mainly the fruit of plants in the nightshade family, many of which are poisonous to humans. It also drinks nectar.

The little yellow-shouldered bat has dark gray to mahogany brown fur on top and lighter fur underneath. The color of the yellow fur found on males comes from the discharge of glands on the bat's shoulders. It also has nasal lobes, usually lacks a tail, and has short ears. It does not hibernate, but reproduces year-round. The female gives birth to a very large (in proportion to her) precocious pup after four to seven months of pregnancy. Cubs can become independent when they are one month old.

#5: Plain Pipistrelle

The common pipistrelle is a lovable bat that loves raising young on farms and buildings.

© iStock.com/ACM1988

This little bat is not only cute, but also has a cute name. Abundant in Europe and Great Britain, North Africa and much of Asia, the two species were originally distinguished by the frequency of their echolocation signals. The call of the ordinary pipe flute is 45 kHz, and the call of the treble pipe flute is 55 kHz.

Read more  tipo de eraro

These bats range in length from 1.09 to 1.27 inches and have a wingspan of 7 to nearly 10 inches. They have short ears, widely spaced eyes, reddish-brown fur, and black wings. They are often found in woods, farms and buildings where female bats like to raise their young. Like many bats, pipistrelles sometimes form large maternal colonies during the breeding season. The pipistrelle is also unusual, as twins are fairly common in some colonies.

The pipistrelle feeds at night on the edge of the woods, eating insects, including mosquitoes and small insects. They will catch and eat small insects on their wings, while they will bring larger insects to perches and eat them at their leisure.

#4: Little Brown Bat

The little brown bat is cute but endangered.

© iStock.com/gkuchera

This cute little brown bat is 3.1 to 3.7 inches long with a wingspan of about 8.7 to 10.6 inches, and it has thick, glossy fur that varies in color from tan to chocolate brown. It is a species of mouse-eared microbat, although its ears are a little longer than most mice. Small brown bats found in North America inhabit colonies that can house tens of thousands of bats. It likes to live in or near human habitation, sleep during the day, and go out to forage for insects and spiders at night. These bats are particularly fond of mosquitoes and fruit flies.

Although the little brown bat doesn't have many predators other than owls and raccoons, it is endangered due to a fungal disease called white-nose syndrome, which attacks bats during hibernation. Ironically, the little brown bat is one of the longest-lived bat species. They have been known to live for over 30 years.

#3: Peter’s Dwarven Epaulettes Fruit Bat

The Peter Pygmy epaulet fruit bat is one of the cutest bats in Africa.

©Dave Montreuil/Shutterstock.com

The Peter Pygmy epaulet fruit bat is one of the cutest bats and lives in the woods and tropical forests of Central Africa. It is believed to be a megabat, even though it is small, only 2.64 to 4.13 inches long. It has shaggy fur that is brown on top and lighter and sparser on the underside. Fur covers the bat's forearms and even part of its wings. Huge eyes, round ears, round head, resembling a mouse, named for the white hair on the shoulders of the male, which resembles epaulets. They can turn them on and vibrate them to attract a mate.

Read more  Duck Lifespan: How Long Do Ducks Live?

Peter's dwarf epaulet fruit bats eat both fruit and nectar, helping to pollinate plants, especially sausage trees. The tree has a smell that is offensive to humans but attracts bats. The bats breed most of the year, especially in spring and November.

#2: Smoked Bat

This cute little bat is native to Puna Island, Ecuador, northern Peru, and northern Chile. Found in forests, pastures, abandoned buildings, and caves, it is only 1.5 to 2.28 inches long and weighs 0.12 ounces. Its small size makes it small enough to hide in crevices and other secret places.

Smoke bats are named for their gray to dark brown fur. If it has any thumbs and no nose lobes, it has a vestigial thumb. It sometimes forms colonies of up to 300 bats, breeds in summer and early fall, and like most bats gives birth to one baby at a time. The staple food is butterflies and moths. The bat on this list is Amorphochilus schnablii , the only species in the genus, although a species of bat called Furipterus horrens is also known as the smoke bat.

#1: Honduran White Bat

The Honduran white bat is another rare species of white-haired bat.

©iStock.com/Robi_J

This tiny creature is listed as the cutest bat. Its fur is shaggy, and while many bats have shaggy fur, the Honduran white bat is a rare bat whose fur is also white. It is only 1.46 to 1.85 inches long with a 4 inch wingspan, with males being larger than females. In addition to the white fur, their wings are yellow on the outside and gray-black on the inside. Their noses and ears are also yellow or amber.

During the day, as many as 15 of these tiny bats sleep together in tents made from the young leaves of cucurbit plants. They come out to feed at night, which is unusual for a small bat, as they are frugivores, especially fond of figs. As the name suggests, this bat is native to the rainforests of Central America.

summarize

According to our research, the top nine cutest bats are as follows:

number bat name
1 northern ghost bat
2 Heart-nosed bat
3 little horseshoe bat
4 little yellow-shouldered bat
5 common pipistrelle
6 little brown bat
7 Peter's Gnome Insignia Fruit Bat
8 smoked bat
9 honduras white bat

next…

  • Bat Predators: What Eats Bats? This is a carnivore that eats bats.
  • Types of Toy Dog Breeds: Dogs are man's best companions. Below are dog breeds from around the world.
  • Cat Breeds: If cats are your thing, here's a guide to help you learn all there is to know about cat breeds.

Next:

  • Saw an alligator biting an electric eel with 860 volts
  • The 15 Deepest Lakes in America
  • Watch rare coyotes and bobcats now

More from AZ Animals


featured image

Honduran white bats together
Honduran white bats together

© Milan Zygmont/Shutterstock.com


about the author


Lex is a green, tree-loving animal lover and mother of 21 felines and a dog. Now, she helps pet owners around the world become the best caretakers for their most trusted pets by sharing her experiences and spreading love.

Thanks for reading! Have some feedback for us? Contact the 10hunting.com editorial team.