Bats are remarkable creatures. Their aerial lifestyle means they live on the edge of what is possible metabolically. Yet they are a very successful group, accounting for over 20 per cent of all living mammals. They are also amazingly long-lived, with a lifespan of up to 30 years, compared to a year for a mammal of similar size such as a shrew or mouse.rnThe US is home to 45 bat species. Around half of these are threatened by a newly identified disease called white nose syndrome (WNS), which kills over 80 per cent of bats that catch it in the US, and seems capable of infecting any cave-dweller.
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