# Bat sex. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 22, 2006, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bat-sex/349510 "2006-03-22T23:51:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![copperwindow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@copperwindow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/copperwindow)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2006, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bat-sex/349510/1 "2006-03-22T23:51:11Z")
Do bats mate upside down? ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bat-sex/349510/2 "2006-03-23T00:00:03Z")
If they’re prepared. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bat-sex/349510/3 "2006-03-23T00:07:52Z")
Nah, they just wing it. ---
**Author:** ![ltfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@ltfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ltfire)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bat-sex/349510/4 "2006-03-23T00:14:08Z")
I think Robin would receive in any position. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bat-sex/349510/5 "2006-03-23T00:20:23Z")
According to this [link](http://wonderclub.com/Wildlife/mammals/vampirebat.html), vampire bats do it upside-down while in the safety of their caves. If this technique had a name, it’d doubtless be “the stalactite”. 😉 I bet this varies considerably by species, though. Not all bats live in caves, and some probably rest right-side-up. ---
**Author:** ![quietriot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7cd45c/32.png) [@quietriot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quietriot)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bat-sex/349510/6 "2006-03-23T01:01:56Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > Nah, they just wing it. I’m sorry, but this had me laughing so hard. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bat-sex/349510/7 "2006-03-23T01:24:42Z")
I have a strange urge to subscribe to this thread. ---
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bat-sex/349510/8 "2006-03-23T01:29:35Z")
Several years ago, I was visiting either the Louisville Zoo or the Cincinatti Zoo (Can’t rememebr which), and they had a nic nocturnal exhibit, including a huge fruit bat display. There were several bats in an… er… aroused state, there must have been a female in heat , and they were trying to mate with ANYthing close to them, hanging there upside down with their enormous hot pink penises almost glowing. It was an interesting experience, to say the least… ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bat-sex/349510/9 "2006-03-23T03:08:07Z")
I tink ve’ve all hat bat sex vonce in a vhile. (Now, I vant to be alone . . .) ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bat-sex/349510/10 "2006-03-23T06:18:15Z")
…and vhen it’s bat, it’s still pretty goot. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bat-sex/349510/11 "2006-03-23T14:34:14Z")
Idunno. Most books on bats ignore copulation. Looking at the Golden Guide To Bats Of The World, we find that males enter from the rear and that"[mating] typically occurs at a roost or perch.". A few sentences later “During delivery of a pup, some mothers-to-be reverse their position at the roost so that they are hanging with their heads up.” But, does copulation simply occur at the roost? Or does it occur while roosting? I have seen bats mate once, maybe. I saw a strange leaf on the sidewalk. Then, I could tell that it was a bat. Then. it was clear that it was two bats. Then, before I could examine their noseleafs, dentition, and tragii, they flew off. It was the right time of year for them to be mating. They were certainly in the right position. Rather than hanging upside down, they were on all fours on the ground. I don’t have a copy, and haven’t read the book in a long time. But, How They Do It may have an entry on bats.