Bats were giant flying creatures that roamed in the forests of Middle-Earth. Most bats were part of the forest's ecosystem, however, some bats were bred from darkness and variants of vampires and were known for their service to the forces of Darkness. Bats sided with the goblins and wargs in the Battle of Five Armies, during which they flew so thickly across the sky that the sunlight was blotted out.
Cave-bats in BFME 2
Appearances in adaptations
Hobbit Trilogy
- Bats of Dol Guldur were seen in the franchise.
Games
- A larger form, the Cave bats, were seen as part of the Goblin faction in the The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II.
- In The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, giant bats chase Radagast the Brown after he encounters the Necromancer at Dol Guldur.
Giant Bats from Games Workshop
Games Workshop
- Giant Bats are a unit in the "Misty Mountains" faction of the The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game.
The Lord Of The Rings Online
- Bats are found in caves throughout Middle-earth, especially in Moria. They are frequently the pets of the Merrevail.
Thuringwethil
In the First Age, Thuringwethil was Sauron 's messenger and took the form of a giant bat with great fingered wings.
Mirkwood
As Bilbo and the dwarves marched through Mirkwood they gave up lighting fires at night because they attracted thousands of moths, followed by huge black bats.
(J. R. R.[1]Tolkien, The[2]Hobbit, "Flies and Spiders")
Names
In Gnomish, one of Tolkien's early conceptions of an Elven language, the word for "bat" is cwildred.
( J. R. R.[3]Tolkien; Christina[4]Scull, Wayne G.[5]Hammond (eds.), Roverandom, "[Chapter] 2")
