7 Ways Bats Are Just Like Batman

For one, these dark knights help the less fortunate.

When it comes to public awareness, bats often fly under the radar—just like superheroes.

With the Lego Batman movie premiering this weekend, Weird Animal Question of the Week got to thinking: “In what ways are bats really like Batman?”

Of the nearly 1,400 known bat species, the wrinkle-faced bat of Colombia, Venezuela, and Mexico is “the weirdest bat in the world”—at least to Rob Mies, director of the Organization for Bat Conservation.

“It takes its thumbs and pulls this chin flap over its face so it can camouflage itself while it sleeps during the day,” he says. The mask (see video below) is partly translucent, “so it can open up its eyes to look for predators.”

Batman had Robin,

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