ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Macroderma gigas

Macroderma gigas is a really big bat! Imagine a bat friend that's as big as a big dog. These bats are called the ghost bats because they are usually a pale, grayish-brown color. They have big pointy ears that they use to navigate while flying around at night, and big eyes that help them see in the dark.

Ghost bats like to hang out in caves and other dark places during the day, sleeping upside down just like other bats that you might have seen in pictures or at the zoo. At night, they wake up and fly around to look for food. What do they eat? Well, ghost bats like to go after bugs and insects like moths and beetles. They'll even eat other types of bats, too!

Even though these bats are big and might look a little scary, they're actually very important to the environment. Ghost bats help control the insect population by eating lots of bugs, which helps plants and other animals thrive.

It's important to remember that even though macroderma gigas bats might look a little spooky, they're actually really helpful animals. We should do our best to protect them and their homes so that they can continue to help out our planet!