Human uses of bats

Human uses of bats include economic uses such as bushmeat or in traditional medicine. Bats are also used symbolically in religion, mythology, superstition, and the arts. Perceived medical uses of bats include treating epilepsy in South America, night blindness in China, rheumatism, asthma, chest pain, and fever in South Asia. Bat meat is consumed in Oceania, Australia, Asia, and Africa, with about 13% of all species hunted for food. Other economic uses of bats include using their teeth as currency on the island of Makira.

Bats are widely represented in the arts, with inclusion in epic poems, plays, fables, and comic books. Though frequently associated with malevolence in Western art, bats are symbols of happiness in China.

Live bats are sold in Bolivia for purported medicinal uses. Specifically, consuming the bats' blood is believed to treat epilepsy. A 2010 study documented that per month, 3,000 bats were sold in markets in four Bolivian cities. Species sold in these markets include Seba's short-tailed bats, mouse-eared bats, and common vampire bats. Bat excrement (guano) is used in traditional Chinese medicine as a treatment for night blindness. The Romans believed that bat blood was an antidote for snake venom.

Flying foxes are killed for use in traditional medicine. The Indian flying fox, for example, has many perceived medical uses. Some believe that its fat is a treatment for rheumatism. Tribes in the Attappadi region of India eat the cooked flesh of the Indian flying fox to treat asthma and chest pain. Healers of the Kanda Tribe of Bangladesh use hair from Indian flying foxes to create treatments for "fever with shivering."

Bats are consumed for their meat in several regions, including Oceania, Australia, Southeast Asia, China, and West and Central Africa. Bats have been used as a food source for humans for thousands of years. At least 167 species of bats are hunted around the world, or about 13% of all bat species.

Indigenous societies in Oceania used parts of flying foxes for functional and ceremonial weapons. In the Solomon Islands, people created barbs out of their bones for use in spears, and still use their dry skins to make kites. In New Caledonia, ceremonial axes made of jade were decorated with braids of flying fox fur.

There are modern and historical references to flying fox byproducts used as currency. In New Caledonia, braided flying fox fur was once used as currency. On the island of Makira, which is part of the Solomon Islands, indigenous peoples still hunt flying foxes for their teeth as well as for bushmeat. The canine teeth are strung together on necklaces that are used as currency. Teeth of the insular flying fox are particularly prized, as they are usually large enough to drill holes in. The Makira flying fox is also hunted, though, despite its smaller teeth.

Bat guano is a natural fertilizer used by gardeners and plant enthusiasts across the world. Bat guano is a natural and organic fertilizer that not only benefits the plants, but also benefits the bats as many gardeners will build bat houses to house the bats, their natural fertilizer supplier.  Bat guano contains many elements that benefit plant growth: carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, and phosphorus. Therefore, because of its natural properties, guano has become very popular across the world for its use as a natural and organic fertilizer.