Of the living mammals today, one fifth of all species are bats. Bats are the only mammals capable of true flight. This made bats able to fly to all areas of the world and colonize more quickly than other mammals. Although they are found all over the world, there is more of a variety of species in the tropical rainforests.

Bats are able to fly because of several physical features that are often their most distinguishing characteristics. Their wings, are the most apparent of these physical features. Unlike birds, bat wings are actually stretched skin. This elastic membrane stretches from the shoulders, along the arm, and completes the wing by reaching to the ankle. Bats have long fingers attached to their arms.

Bats are good climbers, but, their hip arrangement does not allow them much movement or their hind legs to support their bodies. This makes bats clumsy on the ground, they have difficulty moving and only scurry. This is why when bats rest, all bats tend to hang and not sit or stand. The way their feet are constructed, bats do not need a lot of effort to hold onto a branch.

There are two types of bats. One group includes the smaller insect­eating, echo-locating bats that most people are familiar with. The second type of bat is a larger, fruit and nectar-eating bat. These bats are found predominantly in the old world tropics. Because these two types of bats are so different, there has been some interesting debate over the last few decades as to whether they are even related to one another.

The Big-eared Wooly Bat or Peter's Wooly False Vampire Bat, Chrotopterus auritus, is a bat species native to Central and South America.

They are large predatory bats, the second largest bat species in the neotropics, and feed on fruits, beetles, moths, lizards, small mammals and birds, including opossums, rodents and passerine birds. They can take prey of up to 70 g weight, but usually feed on smaller vertebrates of 10 to 35 g, specially small rodents.

This bat species lives in warm subtropical forests, usually roosting in caves and hollow logs where they, sometimes, bring their preys to eat. Sometimes they can not be found in disturbed forests.

Big-eared Wooly bats fly slowly, partially because of their size, flying at 1 or 2 meters above ground and usually in dense thickets. They give birth to a single young after a gestation period of more than 100 days. Colonies size vary between one to seven individuals, consisting of a male-female adult pair and young(s).

The Greater Sac-winged Bat, Saccopteryx bilineata is a bat native to Central and South America.

They are the most common bats seen in the rainforest as they often roost on the outside of large trees. They are insectivores and use echolocation calls through the mouth to track their prey. The long nose and upper lip are highly mobile and can shift upward to enlarge the mouth opening.

The name Sac-winged refers to small pouches on the wings of S. bilineata. These sacs are used by males to attract females and to mark their harem territory. During daily grooming, males will fill these sacs with drops of urine and glandular secretions. During displays for females, the males will hover in front of the female and fan her vigorously to expose her to the scent of the mixture in the wing sacs. Males will also shake the contents of the sac towards bats outside of the male's harem territory to warn off intruders.

The Giant golden-crowned flying fox (Acerodon jubatus), also known as the Golden-capped fruit bat, is a rare fruit bat said to be the largest bat in the world. They can be found only in the Philippines, where they live in the caves and rainforests of Maitum, Sarangani. The species is endangered and is currently facing the possibility of extinction due to poachers and food hunters.

This nocturnal flying mammal has a wing span of at least 5 ft and weighs approximately 1.2 kg or 3 lbs. It is active at night and can fly long distance up to 40 kilometers while hunting for food, eating a variety of fruits. Its favorite food is the ripe fig.

The local government of Maitum, Sarangani in the Philippines has organized a campaign to save this rare species from extinction. They were known to roost by the thousands before their decline due to destruction of habitat and reckless hunting.