Even If You Do Not Like Bats,

many of us will think this fully grown one is really cute,

photograph elzool26 on imgur it is the Bumblebee Bat, some times known as Kitti's hog-nosed bat, (Craseonycteris thonglongyai), not only is it the world’s smallest bat, but also probably the smallest mammal in the known world, in the world there are over 1,200 species of bats, but the smallest of them all can only be found in a few caves in Thailand and Myanmar. The aptly-named Bumblebee Bat is so tiny that it can rest comfortably on an average-size human finger. Its size ranges from 29 to 33 mm, and it only weighs 2 grams. The wingspan of the Bumblebee bat is 170 mm, discovered in 1973, by Thai biologist, Kitti Thonglongya, who also gave the species its official name, the Bumblebee Bat has since become a popular tourist attraction in both Western Thailand – with roosts identified in 44 limestone caves – and Myanmar, where it is known to inhabit 5 caves, and there is the problem, Thai bat expert Pipat Soisook told Mongabay a few years back, some caves have been turned into ‘show grottos’ which has unfortunately led to the destruction of bat habitat,

“Ecotourism should be fine when tourists do not destroy or modify natural habitat,” Soisook said. “However, in most cases, when promoting a cave as a tourist attraction [guides] usually modify the cave to make it more comfortable for the tourists.” Bumblebee Bats are known to live in small colonies of between 10 and 100 individuals – although up to 500 bat colonies have been reported – and are nocturnal predators, using echolocation to hunt various species of insects, according to a 2009 survey, the Thai Bumblebee Bat population is around 45,000, but no data is available on Myanmar, where the number of bats is expected to be much lower due to the bat’s specific microhabitat requirements, hopefully some of the caves will ban tourist from entering them, I have to say it is the cutest bat I have ever seen.