Do bats drink water? How?

Bats are able to drink water while in-flight. They will come down, take a drink and then fly up with just one motion. They are not able to land so that they can drink and take off afterwards. If there is any obstruction in the way or if the water is found in a small area, the bat may get trapped and it may die.

Sometimes when the bats are flying at night and they are thirsty, they may send out high pitched squeaks in order to listen to the returning echoes. When it hears one pattern which reflects back towards it, it means that this is a smooth and flat area such as the surface of a pond or a lake. Then the bat will dive while opening its mouth in order to take a sip of the refreshing water. However, sometimes the bat may misunderstand a large piece of metal to be a pool or another body of water. In nature, the water bodies are the only surfaces that are smooth and large. The wave sounds which hit the surface from the still water will then bounce back unless the bats were aiming straight downward. When the bats pass over varnished wood, plastic or metal, they tend to try to drink from these places since they think that they are bodies of water.

The bats will not learn such skills since they are innate to them. Besides drinking water, the bats also may take juice from fruits. When the bats eat fruits, they do not like those that are strong smelling or have bright colors. They do use their teeth in order to pierce such a fruit and then drink the juice. The bats may also drink nectar of flowers and their long tongues help them to reach it.

Go back to the How to Get Rid of Bats page or email us if you have any other questions about Do bats drink water? How?