TIL that bats like these exist IRL (Painted Wooly Bat, *projapoti badur*)

It looks like a cheap, fuzzy Halloween decoration in the most cheesy way possible, as if someone took the model of a regular boring black bat and recolored it in the “classic” Halloween color scheme to make it look “spooky”. If I’d encounter such a creature in a videogame or movie, I’d laugh at the absurdity. It looks so fake.

Nope. They’re real.

• en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Painted_bat
• conservationindia.org/…/painted-bat-kodagu-coorg-…
• academic-accelerator.com/…/painted-bat

Instead of big swarms, they usually live alone or in family units of three during part of the year—an adult male and a female and their one offspring. The bright and broken coloration of these bats may be a form of camouflage to protect them, as they have been reported to blend in with dried leaves and flowers when they roost. They’re insectivores who hunt at night.

Nature, you’re weird sometimes.