Submitted by JustJustinInTime t3_118pnjj in askscience
Nomomommy t1_j9ldrrk wrote
It's because they're mammals that fly. They need super-powered mitochondria to create enough energy to fly, but there's some sort of trade-off to that which involves the immune system. The solution to this trade-off is for the immune system to function while harboring all these viruses in a way that's harmless to the bats. If you want to know all the specific sciency details involved, there's videos about it on YouTube.
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