Bats are the only mammals with the ability to fly. In Western culture, bats are a symbol of evil. However, in traditional Chinese culture, bats are a symbol of longevity and blessing. The word "bat" for bat has the same pronunciation as "福" for happiness and blessing. For this reason, there are bat patterns expressions in ancient buildings, including upside-down bats, double bats, four bats holding blessings, fortune, longevity, and five bats. In reality, bats are also the natural hosts of a variety of zoonotic viruses , and can carry thousands of viruses, such as Ebola virus , SARS virus , Hendra virus, etc. There are as many as 500 types of coronavirus alone. There are 20 million bats living in Blanken Cave, Texas, USA. So many bats gather together and carry a variety of viruses. Why are these bats safe and sound?
Blanken's Cave is located in Texas, USA. There are dozens of populations and 20 million bats living in it, mainly free-tailed bats. Free-tailed bats are migratory bats that spend March to October in northern habitats such as Blanken Cave, and October to the end of February in warm southern habitats such as Mexico. Bats are nocturnal animals and hang in caves to rest during the day. The darkness is very scary. Free-tailed bats gather together when flying, like patches of clouds. There can be as many as 5,000-10,000 free-tailed bats flying out of Blanken Cave every minute. The sight of bat clouds is particularly spectacular.
Bracken's Bat Cloud
As the only mammal that can fly, bats have an average lifespan of 20-30 years, which is considered very long-lived among small mammals. The average lifespan of mice, which are very similar to him in appearance and body shape, is only 2-3 years. As mammals get larger, their heartbeat and metabolism will slow down, so their lifespans will be longer. Smaller animals tend to have faster heartbeats and metabolisms, so their lifespans will be shorter. But bats are an exception. They have extremely strong internal repair capabilities and special physical characteristics, making them "invulnerable to all poisons."
Bats usually live in dark caves. This environment is also a hotbed for viruses. In addition, bats have extremely long lifespans, so viruses like to parasitize in bats because they can evolve longer in the host. Bats mostly live in natural caves, often with many populations living together, which provides conditions for many types of viruses to exchange, mutate, and spread widely. There are 20 million bats living in the Blanken Bat Cave, many of which are infected with the disease. The virus can easily be transmitted to each other among these bats, but why does the virus not threaten these bats at all?
Blanken's Bat Cave
Bats like to rest in caves during the day and go out to forage at night.The bats in Blanken's Cave alone can kill nearly 250 tons of insects in one night. When bats are flying, their body temperature will reach above 40 degrees. General viruses cannot survive or lose their vitality at this temperature. Only a small number of more tenacious viruses can survive.
Blanken's Bat Cave
When the bats return to the cave to rest, their body temperature will slowly drop. At this time, the virus will become active and reproduce. When the bats go out to forage at night, the body temperature rises again, and the virus will face another challenge. After a continuous adaptation process, viruses and bats can coexist peacefully, and cells damaged by viruses in bats will repair themselves. This is why bats are invulnerable to all viruses.
