Mob Menagerie: Bat

Bats spend most of their short lives hanging upside down from blocks, minding their own business. They’re actually very calm creatures. But if a player comes along and disturbs them they’ll get into a bit of a state, squeaking and flying around randomly until the player goes away again. 

Because this wild state is the only time players tend to see bats, they think that they’re always like that. This is a good example of the “observer effect” in physics (which has nothing to do with the Minecraft block of the same name). This law recognizes that the act of observing something quite often changes that thing, even when the observer doesn’t intend to. 

Bats don’t drop anything when killed – neither items nor experience. So there’s no point hunting them. But if you do want to find one, my advice is to look in dark places in the Overworld around Halloween. That’s when and where they’re most likely to be found.

Bats in the real world aren’t just one species, but a group of more than 1,400 that range in size from 15 centimeters to 1.7 meters. They’re not a type of bird – they’re actually mammals, and in fact, they’re the only mammals that can fly. They get that flight ability from specially adapted hands with a leathery coating between their enormous fingers that make them even more agile than most birds.

Humans don’t see bats very often because they’re nocturnal – meaning they're mostly awake at night. They tend to live in caves and other dark places and so they’ve developed a bit of a creepy reputation. But actually, bats make our lives much easier – they eat insect pests and poop out guano that’s used as fertilizer. That’s why many governments have laws that protect bats, punishing people who disturb them with a heavy fine.

In fact, it’s only in some cultures that bats have a bad reputation. In China, bats are associated with happiness, joy, and good fortune. In the Mesoamerican Zapotec civilization a bat god looked after the corn harvest and fertility. Oh, and in Tonga, bats are sometimes considered the physical form of the soul.

I can't tell whether or not Minecraft bats have souls since they're made up of code – so don’t feel too bad if you disturb one. But you can also just leave them alone – instead of flapping around, they’d much rather go back to just hanging out in peace.