Bats play an important ecological role by eating large amounts of insects, but also unintentionally spread diseases. While bats have evolved to limit damage from infections, they can harbor many dangerous viruses like Ebola, SARS, and rabies. Their social mating behaviors and ability to fly enable viruses to easily disperse and cross species barriers, making bats ideal hosts for viruses to spread globally. The document warns that bats' colony behaviors and promiscuity allow them to act as virus mixing vessels that can spread disease worldwide.