The amazing bats: Friends, enemies or allies?

Bats are a group of extraordinarily specialized vertebrates and are the only mammals capable of flying; their nocturnal habits have stigmatized them to such an extent that in the Hollywood film productions Count Dracula of the Carpathian Mountains was considered the first vampire man; even before Batman himself. In ecosystems, bats are actors with leading roles, 70% of them are insectivores, pollinators, or frugivorous and contribute to the regeneration of forests by disseminating seeds. Some are even fish hunters. Although their large population is mostly distributed in the tropics, they are cosmopolitan and are also found in the Northern Hemisphere. The population of these bats has been displaced in the South American tropics, due to, among many factors, illegal mining, pesticide spraying, indiscriminate deforestation to provide pasture for cattle, and the invasion of their habitats by humans (1).