Category: Mammals
Also known as the Eurasian wild pig, these versatile omnivores are native to Eurasia, North Africa and the Greater Sunda Islands. Humans, however, have helped to spread them well beyond their native lands, and they are now one of the widest ranging mammals in the world. They live in matriarchal societies comprised of genetically related females and their young (male and female) - adult males are generally solitary outside of breeding seasons. They are the ancestor of most domestic pigs.
Bats: The Only True-Flying Mammal
Bats, the only mammal capable of true flight, are not blind - their eyes are just fine, thank you very much. But instead of eyes, most bats rely on an incredibly fine-tuned sense of hearing when they fly and hunt. Using a technique called echolocation, they emit high-pitched calls (usually above the range of human hearing), using the echos that are reflected back to them as a means of navigation and locating objects. The ears, auditory cortex, and (in a few cases) even noses of some bats are extraordinarily specialized for echolocation; there are even bats that have adapted the frequency of their calls to frequencies above or below what their favorite prey can hear!
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