1 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:06,680 Speaker 1: Welcome to stuff to Blow your Mind from how Stuff 2 00:00:06,720 --> 00:00:13,720 Speaker 1: Works dot com. Hey you welcome to stuff to Blow 3 00:00:13,760 --> 00:00:16,120 Speaker 1: your mind. My name is Robert Lamb and I'm Julie Douglas. 4 00:00:16,239 --> 00:00:18,759 Speaker 1: See if you have any bath houses in your yard 5 00:00:19,200 --> 00:00:22,200 Speaker 1: on your trees. I don't have any bath houses, but 6 00:00:22,239 --> 00:00:24,560 Speaker 1: I have a friend with bad houses. Did did they 7 00:00:24,560 --> 00:00:26,560 Speaker 1: actually have bats living in them? Because that's the heart 8 00:00:26,640 --> 00:00:29,120 Speaker 1: and anybody can buy them at the Lows Home Depot 9 00:00:29,200 --> 00:00:31,360 Speaker 1: and nail them to trees. But you got to nail 10 00:00:31,360 --> 00:00:33,240 Speaker 1: them in just the right place so the sun's hitting 11 00:00:33,280 --> 00:00:35,800 Speaker 1: them at the right time, so they're just they're warmed 12 00:00:35,880 --> 00:00:38,640 Speaker 1: enough that in they're they're high enough off the ground 13 00:00:38,640 --> 00:00:43,040 Speaker 1: that they're attractive real estate opportunities for the bat world. 14 00:00:43,120 --> 00:00:46,400 Speaker 1: I believe her bat habitat has been successful. She's a 15 00:00:46,440 --> 00:00:51,040 Speaker 1: bat devotee because because my my my previous house, I 16 00:00:51,080 --> 00:00:53,040 Speaker 1: built one of these things. I nailed it up there. 17 00:00:53,400 --> 00:00:55,960 Speaker 1: I was really hopeful we get some bats zipping around 18 00:00:56,000 --> 00:00:58,440 Speaker 1: the backyard eating up in sects, and never happen. So 19 00:00:58,480 --> 00:01:01,680 Speaker 1: I had like a bat for close in my backyard 20 00:01:02,080 --> 00:01:05,040 Speaker 1: that weeds growing all over it. Yeah, all the other 21 00:01:05,080 --> 00:01:07,319 Speaker 1: birds just kind of roosting on it. Yeah, just like 22 00:01:07,400 --> 00:01:10,880 Speaker 1: wasps or something moving into it. Yeah. Yeah. Um, well, 23 00:01:10,920 --> 00:01:14,080 Speaker 1: do you have any direct like that experiences, like you've 24 00:01:14,080 --> 00:01:16,560 Speaker 1: ever been attacked by a bat, which is highly unusual 25 00:01:16,720 --> 00:01:19,200 Speaker 1: by the way, No, no, no, I do not have 26 00:01:19,240 --> 00:01:22,400 Speaker 1: any bad attack stories. That's some Some had some cool 27 00:01:22,480 --> 00:01:25,720 Speaker 1: encounters with bats on trips. When when my wife and 28 00:01:25,720 --> 00:01:28,080 Speaker 1: I went to Costa Rico, we got to see uh, 29 00:01:28,200 --> 00:01:30,000 Speaker 1: we went on one of these night nature hikes in 30 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:32,160 Speaker 1: the jungle and we got to see bats zipping down 31 00:01:32,600 --> 00:01:35,600 Speaker 1: and skimming fish a little bit of fish on the 32 00:01:35,640 --> 00:01:38,679 Speaker 1: top of a pond. That was nice. And when we 33 00:01:38,720 --> 00:01:43,200 Speaker 1: went on our honeymoon in um in Mexico, we uh 34 00:01:43,319 --> 00:01:46,440 Speaker 1: there were fruit bats in the area and uh, and 35 00:01:46,480 --> 00:01:48,000 Speaker 1: we were talking to some of the other people were 36 00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:49,559 Speaker 1: staying there. Everybody was in kind of like a little 37 00:01:49,600 --> 00:01:52,320 Speaker 1: hot bungalow type of the thing, and we were noticing 38 00:01:52,360 --> 00:01:56,600 Speaker 1: that that they had plastic screens up um high up 39 00:01:56,600 --> 00:01:58,880 Speaker 1: in the roof. And you're thinking, oh, I guess that's 40 00:01:58,920 --> 00:02:01,160 Speaker 1: to keep wind from blowing in or whatever, but that 41 00:02:01,280 --> 00:02:03,559 Speaker 1: it was there to keep the fruit bats from coming 42 00:02:03,560 --> 00:02:07,040 Speaker 1: in there and uh and roosting, because they would they 43 00:02:07,040 --> 00:02:08,920 Speaker 1: would get into the huts. They would roost up there 44 00:02:08,919 --> 00:02:11,000 Speaker 1: and then they they would just poop all over the place. 45 00:02:11,639 --> 00:02:13,440 Speaker 1: So I never got to see the fruit bats, but 46 00:02:13,480 --> 00:02:15,880 Speaker 1: there are lots of stories about it. And I kept thinking, oh, 47 00:02:15,919 --> 00:02:18,040 Speaker 1: if I, if I look closely, I'll see them. And 48 00:02:18,040 --> 00:02:21,360 Speaker 1: there is nothing like seeing some some bats flying around. 49 00:02:21,360 --> 00:02:23,600 Speaker 1: If you're you know, just at the sun's going down 50 00:02:24,240 --> 00:02:25,880 Speaker 1: and out of the corner of your eyes, you might 51 00:02:26,000 --> 00:02:27,840 Speaker 1: might just think of birds or insects, but then you 52 00:02:27,840 --> 00:02:29,679 Speaker 1: start noticing you realize all the bats are out, and 53 00:02:29,720 --> 00:02:31,800 Speaker 1: it's it's beautiful. I remember seeing some of the Grand 54 00:02:31,840 --> 00:02:36,520 Speaker 1: Canyon and that was that was just really really beautiful. Yeah, 55 00:02:36,560 --> 00:02:38,519 Speaker 1: I was thinking, like, and of course that's a wonderful 56 00:02:38,560 --> 00:02:40,480 Speaker 1: backdrop to see it. But I was thinking even in 57 00:02:40,520 --> 00:02:44,320 Speaker 1: my suburban upbringing, you know, at night under the lights, 58 00:02:44,480 --> 00:02:47,040 Speaker 1: just seeing them swarm around was like this incredible thing. 59 00:02:47,120 --> 00:02:50,120 Speaker 1: And that was very curious about them. And I remember 60 00:02:50,440 --> 00:02:52,960 Speaker 1: seeing them at a zoo and seeing them up close 61 00:02:53,440 --> 00:02:56,800 Speaker 1: and being completely just blown away because in front of 62 00:02:56,840 --> 00:03:00,760 Speaker 1: me was what looked like to be a common and sister. Right, 63 00:03:00,800 --> 00:03:03,280 Speaker 1: you look at these guys really closely in these gals 64 00:03:03,880 --> 00:03:12,320 Speaker 1: and uh some of the physiology grandfather. But I did um, 65 00:03:12,360 --> 00:03:14,959 Speaker 1: it actually sounds like maybe it burped at me. I 66 00:03:15,040 --> 00:03:17,080 Speaker 1: don't know. But you look the physiology of these guys 67 00:03:17,120 --> 00:03:19,800 Speaker 1: and then you really began to see, um, some some 68 00:03:19,919 --> 00:03:23,880 Speaker 1: interesting traits and and I'm not not to be crass, 69 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:27,079 Speaker 1: but I mean the woman I really got to look 70 00:03:27,120 --> 00:03:31,440 Speaker 1: at closely. The penis was very apparent. U. So you 71 00:03:31,480 --> 00:03:33,560 Speaker 1: began to look at that in the physiology of the 72 00:03:33,560 --> 00:03:36,080 Speaker 1: wings and we'll talk more about this, the arms and 73 00:03:36,120 --> 00:03:40,000 Speaker 1: the fingers that that seemed to be very similar to ours, 74 00:03:40,120 --> 00:03:42,280 Speaker 1: and you began to think, Wow, this creature is is 75 00:03:43,000 --> 00:03:48,200 Speaker 1: very unique, not just because yeah, yeah, and I think 76 00:03:48,200 --> 00:03:51,080 Speaker 1: that's what people tend to think of when they yeah, 77 00:03:51,520 --> 00:03:54,920 Speaker 1: it is not. It is far more complex and and unique. 78 00:03:55,040 --> 00:03:57,400 Speaker 1: And we'll talk a little bit more about that. Um, 79 00:03:57,440 --> 00:04:02,120 Speaker 1: but let's talk about the folklore, oh behind the bat. Well, UM, 80 00:04:02,120 --> 00:04:04,920 Speaker 1: it's it's the most obvious thing that comes to people's mind, 81 00:04:05,040 --> 00:04:08,520 Speaker 1: especially Western Western minds, is of course that the bat 82 00:04:08,640 --> 00:04:11,520 Speaker 1: is a symbol of evil. The bat is a symbol 83 00:04:11,600 --> 00:04:14,960 Speaker 1: of of of vampires in disguise, and a lot of 84 00:04:15,000 --> 00:04:17,000 Speaker 1: this goes to the fact that you have you have 85 00:04:17,080 --> 00:04:21,479 Speaker 1: bats that when the sun goes down, they emerge from caves. 86 00:04:21,680 --> 00:04:25,040 Speaker 1: So they're emerging from the underworld when God's light leaves us. 87 00:04:25,320 --> 00:04:27,719 Speaker 1: They're flying around in the dark, and of course we 88 00:04:27,760 --> 00:04:29,880 Speaker 1: end up with all sorts of stories about them flying 89 00:04:29,920 --> 00:04:32,960 Speaker 1: into people's hair or attacking people, which most of that 90 00:04:33,080 --> 00:04:36,320 Speaker 1: is is WHOI But certainly you do have vampire bats 91 00:04:36,880 --> 00:04:40,360 Speaker 1: that will have given the opportunity lap up a little 92 00:04:40,400 --> 00:04:45,960 Speaker 1: human blood or cat well cal's primarily they're they're they're 93 00:04:45,960 --> 00:04:49,039 Speaker 1: more favorite meal. But uh, but then you also have bats. 94 00:04:49,080 --> 00:04:51,159 Speaker 1: Bats are of course susceptible to raby, so you will 95 00:04:51,160 --> 00:04:53,880 Speaker 1: have encound situations where bats will become rapid and will 96 00:04:53,880 --> 00:04:59,119 Speaker 1: become a problem. But but yeah, so evil bats easy 97 00:04:59,160 --> 00:05:01,160 Speaker 1: to wrap your head around that because they're emerging from 98 00:05:01,200 --> 00:05:03,080 Speaker 1: the underworld and they're flying over the place. Well, and 99 00:05:03,360 --> 00:05:06,640 Speaker 1: the vampire bats, as you had um just brought up, 100 00:05:06,720 --> 00:05:08,680 Speaker 1: have like you know, I guess you could say the 101 00:05:08,760 --> 00:05:12,120 Speaker 1: things um. And so you look at them, and you 102 00:05:12,160 --> 00:05:17,680 Speaker 1: can see fifteen sixteenth century settlers in the United States, 103 00:05:17,680 --> 00:05:19,680 Speaker 1: particularly when you begin to see some of this four 104 00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:25,000 Speaker 1: folklore really start to come up, and perhaps even witnessing 105 00:05:25,360 --> 00:05:28,760 Speaker 1: one of your cows being you know, blood sucked. Yeah, 106 00:05:28,839 --> 00:05:32,560 Speaker 1: and of course your cow being attacked and especially back 107 00:05:32,560 --> 00:05:34,359 Speaker 1: in the day, I mean that was that was severe, 108 00:05:34,440 --> 00:05:37,840 Speaker 1: that was major business. I mean you would have people 109 00:05:37,839 --> 00:05:40,679 Speaker 1: would be brought up on witchcraft trials due to animal 110 00:05:40,720 --> 00:05:43,640 Speaker 1: deaths because I mean in part because you know, you're 111 00:05:43,640 --> 00:05:46,320 Speaker 1: living in an enlightened time with all of this folklore, 112 00:05:46,320 --> 00:05:48,960 Speaker 1: but also because it's a serious business. That's your livelihood 113 00:05:48,960 --> 00:05:52,000 Speaker 1: out there, and something's drinking its blood. Yes, So you 114 00:05:52,000 --> 00:05:54,400 Speaker 1: can see how these stories start to get um, you know, 115 00:05:54,480 --> 00:05:58,040 Speaker 1: bandied about. And then you've got this sort of vampire mythology, 116 00:05:58,160 --> 00:06:02,960 Speaker 1: and of course and you've got brand Stokers, Dracula and 117 00:06:03,160 --> 00:06:06,680 Speaker 1: forever more do you have the bat in the vampire 118 00:06:06,760 --> 00:06:12,919 Speaker 1: inextrictably linked together? Now, it's interesting, um to to quickly 119 00:06:13,320 --> 00:06:17,280 Speaker 1: dive out of folklore and then scurry back into it. Um. 120 00:06:17,320 --> 00:06:19,800 Speaker 1: We have about we have over a thousand, over eleven 121 00:06:20,240 --> 00:06:23,320 Speaker 1: different species of bats in the world. Um. They make 122 00:06:23,400 --> 00:06:26,400 Speaker 1: up about a quarter of all mammal species. Uh. And 123 00:06:26,440 --> 00:06:29,000 Speaker 1: there are forty five different species of bats alone in 124 00:06:29,000 --> 00:06:31,920 Speaker 1: the United States and Canada alone. And if we look 125 00:06:31,920 --> 00:06:35,159 Speaker 1: at bats overall, we have mega bats, which are the 126 00:06:35,240 --> 00:06:39,480 Speaker 1: large bats that are found in Old World tropical rainforest Australia, Asia, Africa, 127 00:06:39,880 --> 00:06:41,800 Speaker 1: and then you have the microbats, which are the ones 128 00:06:41,839 --> 00:06:45,880 Speaker 1: that are gonna occur you know, the United States, Western World, etcetera. 129 00:06:46,520 --> 00:06:48,960 Speaker 1: So it's interesting to me that in those western the 130 00:06:49,000 --> 00:06:52,599 Speaker 1: western environments where you have the microbats, that's where you 131 00:06:52,640 --> 00:06:56,160 Speaker 1: see the evil ideas come to mind. But when you're 132 00:06:56,200 --> 00:06:59,360 Speaker 1: dealing with the mega bats, the which which generally we're 133 00:06:59,400 --> 00:07:03,760 Speaker 1: talking about root eating bats, large wolfish looking creatures, which 134 00:07:04,080 --> 00:07:06,960 Speaker 1: long muzzle, long muzzle, which in a way could conceivably 135 00:07:06,960 --> 00:07:12,040 Speaker 1: look a little creepier because they're bigger. But but but 136 00:07:12,320 --> 00:07:15,920 Speaker 1: also those these are the places where you find more 137 00:07:15,960 --> 00:07:18,960 Speaker 1: benevolent versions of the bat and folklore. For instance, in 138 00:07:19,160 --> 00:07:22,640 Speaker 1: Mayan mythology, they had they had a bad god um 139 00:07:22,680 --> 00:07:28,440 Speaker 1: which was named camazots um and uh and camazots means 140 00:07:28,520 --> 00:07:30,960 Speaker 1: death bats, so I guess he well, he wasn't completely benevolent, 141 00:07:31,040 --> 00:07:33,280 Speaker 1: but still uh, you know, he was big enough to 142 00:07:33,280 --> 00:07:35,280 Speaker 1: be a god. He wasn't reduced to demon hood. He 143 00:07:35,320 --> 00:07:39,080 Speaker 1: was he was a major player in the local cosmology. Meanwhile, 144 00:07:39,480 --> 00:07:42,640 Speaker 1: Chinese mythology sheds a positive light on the bats, where 145 00:07:42,640 --> 00:07:45,200 Speaker 1: they're viewed as symbols of good luck, and both the 146 00:07:45,200 --> 00:07:50,320 Speaker 1: Apache and Cherokee people's of North America enjoyed the bat 147 00:07:50,560 --> 00:07:52,800 Speaker 1: and viewed their presence as a symbol to something goodless 148 00:07:52,800 --> 00:07:55,080 Speaker 1: about happened. So it's a it's a good omen to 149 00:07:55,120 --> 00:07:57,280 Speaker 1: see the bat in the sky. What's the way I 150 00:07:57,280 --> 00:07:59,040 Speaker 1: I feel like I tend to look at him, you know, 151 00:07:59,080 --> 00:08:01,200 Speaker 1: if I if I noticed bats around, it's that's a 152 00:08:01,200 --> 00:08:03,200 Speaker 1: good day right now. And we'll talk about more about 153 00:08:03,200 --> 00:08:05,320 Speaker 1: the benefits of bats and why they're really important to 154 00:08:05,680 --> 00:08:08,480 Speaker 1: the ecosystem. But let's talk a little bit more about 155 00:08:08,480 --> 00:08:11,600 Speaker 1: the physical description of bats. Um As you had said, 156 00:08:11,760 --> 00:08:15,680 Speaker 1: there's more than a thousand different species, and the size 157 00:08:15,800 --> 00:08:18,800 Speaker 1: is very greatly. The smallest is the bumblebee bat, and 158 00:08:18,880 --> 00:08:22,640 Speaker 1: that has I know, adorable right a six inch wingspan, 159 00:08:22,920 --> 00:08:26,679 Speaker 1: while a Malayan flying foxes wingspan is six ft wide, 160 00:08:26,800 --> 00:08:29,400 Speaker 1: which might strike tear into the heart if you happen 161 00:08:29,440 --> 00:08:32,679 Speaker 1: to just look up in the night sky. But still fascinating. 162 00:08:32,880 --> 00:08:35,599 Speaker 1: This the sort of variety here, Oh, real quickly. The 163 00:08:35,640 --> 00:08:38,520 Speaker 1: bumble bee bat also known as kitties hog nos bat, 164 00:08:39,120 --> 00:08:42,680 Speaker 1: which which draws an important point about the whole bats 165 00:08:42,720 --> 00:08:46,600 Speaker 1: are evil, is that bats are often to to humanize 166 00:08:47,120 --> 00:08:53,000 Speaker 1: um rather possibly ugly to behold or or at least there. 167 00:08:53,040 --> 00:08:57,440 Speaker 1: Their features are often exaggerated, whereas a mouse, we know 168 00:08:57,440 --> 00:08:59,280 Speaker 1: what a mouse looks like. And certainly a lot of 169 00:08:59,320 --> 00:09:02,760 Speaker 1: the mega mats they have very their their heads tend 170 00:09:02,840 --> 00:09:05,679 Speaker 1: to resemble foxes, in myself a little more traditional, if 171 00:09:05,679 --> 00:09:08,680 Speaker 1: you will. Where's the microbats? You see some crazy stuff 172 00:09:08,720 --> 00:09:11,520 Speaker 1: like like the wrinkle face back, which will discuss later. Yeah, 173 00:09:11,640 --> 00:09:15,599 Speaker 1: and I did want to um mention the Mega Carptera, 174 00:09:15,679 --> 00:09:19,640 Speaker 1: that's that's what you're referring to, the mega's there um 175 00:09:19,679 --> 00:09:22,360 Speaker 1: as you said, the flying fox. These these guys are 176 00:09:22,440 --> 00:09:25,520 Speaker 1: mostly vegetarians and they do feed on fruit and pollen. 177 00:09:25,559 --> 00:09:28,320 Speaker 1: Hence your point. They seem to have a little bit 178 00:09:28,360 --> 00:09:32,040 Speaker 1: better of a reputation um and it's parts of the world. 179 00:09:32,600 --> 00:09:36,440 Speaker 1: And then the Microcryptia is as you said. You know, 180 00:09:36,480 --> 00:09:39,480 Speaker 1: it's smaller, and it's got the pug nosed dog look 181 00:09:39,760 --> 00:09:42,400 Speaker 1: and it's a little bit odder looking and they're found 182 00:09:42,440 --> 00:09:45,679 Speaker 1: all around the world, and they are carnivores and they 183 00:09:45,720 --> 00:09:50,079 Speaker 1: feed primarily on insects. And I did want to point 184 00:09:50,120 --> 00:09:55,079 Speaker 1: out that bats belong to their own taxonic grouping uh Caroptera, 185 00:09:55,520 --> 00:09:59,280 Speaker 1: which means winghand. So we'll check we'll check out that 186 00:09:59,280 --> 00:10:02,119 Speaker 1: little wing hand in a moment. That's it's it's really fascinating. 187 00:10:03,320 --> 00:10:06,840 Speaker 1: But but first let's take a we we've walked through folklore, 188 00:10:06,960 --> 00:10:10,120 Speaker 1: we've walked through a little bit of taxonomy. Now let's 189 00:10:10,160 --> 00:10:13,600 Speaker 1: tiptoe just a little bit through philosophy before we really 190 00:10:13,600 --> 00:10:16,400 Speaker 1: get into the world of the bat. Because as if 191 00:10:16,400 --> 00:10:18,400 Speaker 1: we're putting all this together and we're coming this from 192 00:10:18,400 --> 00:10:21,839 Speaker 1: a human perspective, Uh so we're we're bringing our human 193 00:10:21,880 --> 00:10:25,480 Speaker 1: baggage with us, and we're trying to understand in a sense, 194 00:10:25,520 --> 00:10:27,400 Speaker 1: what it is to be a bat? What is the 195 00:10:27,400 --> 00:10:31,679 Speaker 1: bad experience? And there's actually a really awesome piece of 196 00:10:31,720 --> 00:10:36,760 Speaker 1: philosophical pondering from American philosopher Thomas Nagle, who was published 197 00:10:36,800 --> 00:10:41,160 Speaker 1: in The Philosophical Review back in four and it's um 198 00:10:40,720 --> 00:10:43,200 Speaker 1: and he basically asked a question, what is it like 199 00:10:43,240 --> 00:10:47,280 Speaker 1: to be a bat? And it's it's ultimately about the 200 00:10:47,400 --> 00:10:50,839 Speaker 1: limits of of our our our human perspective, and about 201 00:10:50,840 --> 00:10:53,439 Speaker 1: how when we're trying to imagine an alien perspective, be 202 00:10:53,559 --> 00:10:56,360 Speaker 1: it that of a bat, that of your dog, your cat, 203 00:10:56,760 --> 00:11:00,480 Speaker 1: that of a potential extraterrestrial species, they are there are 204 00:11:00,520 --> 00:11:04,520 Speaker 1: certain walls there that we just can't get past to 205 00:11:04,800 --> 00:11:07,840 Speaker 1: read just a quick quote from it. Here, Nagel says, bats, 206 00:11:07,920 --> 00:11:11,880 Speaker 1: although more closely related to us uh than those other species, 207 00:11:11,920 --> 00:11:15,440 Speaker 1: nevertheless present a range of activity and a sensory apparatus 208 00:11:15,559 --> 00:11:18,080 Speaker 1: so different from ours that the problem I want to 209 00:11:18,120 --> 00:11:22,840 Speaker 1: pose is exceptionally vivid, even without the benefit of philosophical reflection. 210 00:11:23,320 --> 00:11:25,960 Speaker 1: Anyone who has spent some time in an enclosed space 211 00:11:26,040 --> 00:11:30,600 Speaker 1: with an excited bat, I love that knows what it 212 00:11:30,679 --> 00:11:34,280 Speaker 1: is to encounter a fundamentally alien form of life. And 213 00:11:34,320 --> 00:11:37,280 Speaker 1: then he goes on to say bats sonar, though clearly 214 00:11:37,320 --> 00:11:40,560 Speaker 1: a form of perception, is not similar in its operation 215 00:11:40,640 --> 00:11:43,160 Speaker 1: to any sense that we possess, and there is no 216 00:11:43,280 --> 00:11:46,840 Speaker 1: reason to suppose that it is subjectively like anything we 217 00:11:46,880 --> 00:11:50,679 Speaker 1: can experience or imagine. This appears to create difficulties for 218 00:11:50,720 --> 00:11:53,360 Speaker 1: the notion of what it is like to be a bat. 219 00:11:53,640 --> 00:11:55,760 Speaker 1: And what I think is interesting about that is that 220 00:11:57,160 --> 00:11:59,040 Speaker 1: and yet we we can't help but try, I mean, 221 00:11:59,040 --> 00:12:01,080 Speaker 1: we're gonna try to, and that we're just a little 222 00:12:01,120 --> 00:12:04,439 Speaker 1: bit squeak through and get into this because it's so 223 00:12:04,920 --> 00:12:07,880 Speaker 1: fascinating to me. I was thinking about it um in 224 00:12:07,920 --> 00:12:10,280 Speaker 1: the same terms of when we were talking about sepal 225 00:12:10,280 --> 00:12:14,280 Speaker 1: of pods and our inability to truly understand them because 226 00:12:14,480 --> 00:12:17,320 Speaker 1: they're communicating in a way that that we would never 227 00:12:17,960 --> 00:12:21,880 Speaker 1: be able to be living in a different sensory world understand. Yeah. Absolutely, 228 00:12:21,920 --> 00:12:25,120 Speaker 1: And they are experiencing a color spectrum that we can't 229 00:12:25,120 --> 00:12:28,280 Speaker 1: even begin to understand because we don't have have the 230 00:12:28,320 --> 00:12:31,720 Speaker 1: machinery for it. Um. That being said, though, that we 231 00:12:31,800 --> 00:12:35,240 Speaker 1: can kind of get a glimpse into the world of 232 00:12:35,360 --> 00:12:38,640 Speaker 1: bats and how very cool it is. And we will 233 00:12:38,679 --> 00:12:42,040 Speaker 1: talk about eto location uh in this podcast, but we 234 00:12:42,040 --> 00:12:44,600 Speaker 1: have another one coming up that is devoted entirely to 235 00:12:44,679 --> 00:12:47,679 Speaker 1: that because you talk about the doors of perception flying 236 00:12:47,720 --> 00:12:50,800 Speaker 1: open when it comes to bats and their ability to 237 00:12:50,960 --> 00:12:53,880 Speaker 1: see and I'm saying that in quote marks, Uh, it 238 00:12:53,960 --> 00:12:56,560 Speaker 1: is amazing stuff. Yeah. So where do bats come from? 239 00:12:56,800 --> 00:12:59,080 Speaker 1: They didn't just fly out of a hole in the 240 00:12:59,160 --> 00:13:02,040 Speaker 1: underworld one day. They of course evolved like everything else 241 00:13:02,080 --> 00:13:04,440 Speaker 1: on Earth. And Uh, as best we can tell from 242 00:13:04,480 --> 00:13:08,440 Speaker 1: fossil evidence, they came about about fifty million years ago. 243 00:13:08,480 --> 00:13:10,600 Speaker 1: That's about how far back we have to look to 244 00:13:11,040 --> 00:13:15,679 Speaker 1: and find evidence for bat like flying mammals. Uh. They 245 00:13:15,720 --> 00:13:19,280 Speaker 1: probably started off in the trees, we think, instead eating 246 00:13:19,360 --> 00:13:22,400 Speaker 1: a little tree creatures, and then they began to really 247 00:13:22,440 --> 00:13:25,559 Speaker 1: go after a key market. Because evolution, of course, is 248 00:13:25,600 --> 00:13:29,160 Speaker 1: always about and I'm going to anthropomorphize evolution a little 249 00:13:29,160 --> 00:13:32,199 Speaker 1: bit here, uh, which I can't help it do, but 250 00:13:32,200 --> 00:13:35,280 Speaker 1: but evolution is all about going after a market, doing 251 00:13:35,320 --> 00:13:38,320 Speaker 1: what's work, what works, and I mean it's just extreme 252 00:13:38,360 --> 00:13:41,760 Speaker 1: business savvy. So you have the bats, right, and what 253 00:13:42,040 --> 00:13:44,439 Speaker 1: is this this vital market that they need to get into. 254 00:13:44,480 --> 00:13:46,640 Speaker 1: They want to eat instincts. They need to eat instincts. 255 00:13:46,880 --> 00:13:50,560 Speaker 1: That's there, that's the thing. But there's a whole period 256 00:13:50,840 --> 00:13:54,800 Speaker 1: of time, a recurring period of time in which the 257 00:13:54,800 --> 00:13:57,120 Speaker 1: markets wide open. It's just right for the picking. They 258 00:13:57,120 --> 00:14:00,560 Speaker 1: just need the right evolutionary adaptations to go after all right. 259 00:14:00,640 --> 00:14:02,280 Speaker 1: So in other words, they show up on the scene 260 00:14:02,280 --> 00:14:05,240 Speaker 1: fifty million years ago and birds already well established and 261 00:14:05,280 --> 00:14:07,679 Speaker 1: they're eating up all of all of the prey, right, 262 00:14:08,160 --> 00:14:11,359 Speaker 1: And so they looked to the night sky and they say, ah, 263 00:14:11,480 --> 00:14:15,680 Speaker 1: I see a smart dishport of insects there. If only 264 00:14:15,720 --> 00:14:18,400 Speaker 1: I could get to them. And essentially this is where 265 00:14:18,440 --> 00:14:21,080 Speaker 1: you begin to see where the bat becomes an extremely 266 00:14:21,120 --> 00:14:27,520 Speaker 1: successful mammal because it is able to then uh, basically 267 00:14:27,520 --> 00:14:30,200 Speaker 1: evolved into flight, which we'll talk about a little bit. 268 00:14:30,800 --> 00:14:34,400 Speaker 1: But also it becomes a nocturnal creature who can hunt 269 00:14:34,440 --> 00:14:38,040 Speaker 1: at night get all of those insects. But also it's 270 00:14:37,800 --> 00:14:41,040 Speaker 1: a it's able to use the cover of night uh 271 00:14:41,120 --> 00:14:44,600 Speaker 1: from other predators, so it doesn't get eaten up. Yeah. 272 00:14:44,640 --> 00:14:48,280 Speaker 1: I mean, obviously there are nocturnal birds. You have owls 273 00:14:48,720 --> 00:14:53,080 Speaker 1: and and and some other creatures of avian creatures that 274 00:14:53,080 --> 00:14:56,200 Speaker 1: that do their thing at night. But for the most part, 275 00:14:56,360 --> 00:14:59,920 Speaker 1: this was a wide open space. So bats moved into 276 00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:02,640 Speaker 1: it and really they came to own the night. I mean, 277 00:15:02,680 --> 00:15:05,960 Speaker 1: they're they're certainly preyed on by some creatures, but but 278 00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:09,400 Speaker 1: they're really ruling it out there and have arguably become 279 00:15:09,560 --> 00:15:12,240 Speaker 1: one of one ill of, if not the most successful 280 00:15:12,280 --> 00:15:15,360 Speaker 1: mammals on the planet. Yes, yes, for this very reason. 281 00:15:15,520 --> 00:15:18,000 Speaker 1: I mean, you can certainly the argument can fall to, 282 00:15:18,240 --> 00:15:21,560 Speaker 1: you know, rat versus bat. You could maybe make an 283 00:15:21,600 --> 00:15:24,040 Speaker 1: argument for domestic cat as well, but that that's a 284 00:15:24,040 --> 00:15:27,680 Speaker 1: slightly different business model. Yeah, and a whole other podcast 285 00:15:27,760 --> 00:15:30,360 Speaker 1: coming up, by the way. Certainly both the bats, both 286 00:15:30,400 --> 00:15:33,640 Speaker 1: the rats and the cats uh a certain amount of 287 00:15:33,680 --> 00:15:36,920 Speaker 1: their success to humans. But but the bats, they're doing 288 00:15:36,960 --> 00:15:39,240 Speaker 1: it all by wings, so so certainly you can give 289 00:15:39,240 --> 00:15:43,600 Speaker 1: the natural bump to them in the contest. Yeah. Um. 290 00:15:43,800 --> 00:15:46,440 Speaker 1: This is from the Department of Energy. Aska Scientist Mike 291 00:15:46,480 --> 00:15:49,080 Speaker 1: Stewart says that the night is really a win win 292 00:15:49,160 --> 00:15:53,600 Speaker 1: proposition for bats because they are better suited um as 293 00:15:53,680 --> 00:15:56,520 Speaker 1: as a mammal um to the night because they're expending 294 00:15:56,640 --> 00:15:59,040 Speaker 1: so much energy to stay in flight, so the cool 295 00:15:59,080 --> 00:16:01,600 Speaker 1: air would help them to had excess body heat, so 296 00:16:01,680 --> 00:16:03,720 Speaker 1: that's that's a boon to them. And because the night 297 00:16:03,800 --> 00:16:06,480 Speaker 1: air is cooler and has a higher density than the 298 00:16:06,480 --> 00:16:08,320 Speaker 1: hot air during the day, it makes it easier to 299 00:16:08,400 --> 00:16:12,200 Speaker 1: derive lift by flapping wings and cool denser air. And 300 00:16:12,200 --> 00:16:14,320 Speaker 1: again we'll talk about the wings situation in a bit, 301 00:16:14,760 --> 00:16:18,160 Speaker 1: but as we know, bats aren't constructed like birds, so 302 00:16:18,200 --> 00:16:19,600 Speaker 1: they need all the help they can get in the 303 00:16:19,680 --> 00:16:24,120 Speaker 1: lift department. And then echolocation is um is one of 304 00:16:24,240 --> 00:16:27,560 Speaker 1: two main adoptions again here that make bats six such 305 00:16:27,640 --> 00:16:31,280 Speaker 1: successful nocturnal creatures. Yeah, it's worth noting there's no way 306 00:16:31,280 --> 00:16:33,720 Speaker 1: a bat is going to outply a bird. And if 307 00:16:33,760 --> 00:16:36,520 Speaker 1: you've if you've ever watched Atton Borrows the Life of mammals, 308 00:16:36,600 --> 00:16:39,840 Speaker 1: there's there or well now I can't remember if this 309 00:16:39,880 --> 00:16:41,200 Speaker 1: was an episode of the Life of Mammals are the 310 00:16:41,240 --> 00:16:43,840 Speaker 1: Life of Birds but one of those two series, I 311 00:16:43,960 --> 00:16:47,120 Speaker 1: just go watch them both. Uh, you get to see 312 00:16:47,160 --> 00:16:51,120 Speaker 1: this in action as as a mega bats afrigo, which 313 00:16:51,160 --> 00:16:53,480 Speaker 1: kind of fruit that it was? Um, I just have 314 00:16:53,600 --> 00:16:56,720 Speaker 1: a terrible time if they're up against predatory birds during 315 00:16:56,760 --> 00:16:59,920 Speaker 1: the daylight, swoop in and just take them because they're 316 00:17:00,360 --> 00:17:03,240 Speaker 1: they're just a total on a total different level performance wise, 317 00:17:03,600 --> 00:17:06,800 Speaker 1: but at night they're the they're the top player. But 318 00:17:06,840 --> 00:17:10,360 Speaker 1: it's really echo location that makes them this standout mammal right, 319 00:17:10,560 --> 00:17:13,520 Speaker 1: because their ability, this ability that they have evolved makes 320 00:17:13,520 --> 00:17:16,480 Speaker 1: them super successful. Yeah, they can navigate this world of night. 321 00:17:16,640 --> 00:17:20,080 Speaker 1: They can find these often tiny they're a tiny creatures. 322 00:17:20,160 --> 00:17:22,920 Speaker 1: The flitting about out there in the dark is it's 323 00:17:23,080 --> 00:17:25,160 Speaker 1: zero in on them and swoop in for the kill. 324 00:17:25,400 --> 00:17:28,639 Speaker 1: All right, let's do a little brief overview of echo location, 325 00:17:28,640 --> 00:17:30,560 Speaker 1: and again we won't go into it too much because 326 00:17:30,560 --> 00:17:33,320 Speaker 1: we have a podcast devoted entirely to it. It is 327 00:17:33,359 --> 00:17:36,720 Speaker 1: that fascinating. Tom harris um is a House to Works 328 00:17:36,720 --> 00:17:39,920 Speaker 1: writer and he has an excellent how bats work article 329 00:17:40,000 --> 00:17:43,040 Speaker 1: to check that out. But he asked you to imagine 330 00:17:43,040 --> 00:17:46,240 Speaker 1: an Echo canyon when you think about echolocation, and it's 331 00:17:46,280 --> 00:17:50,239 Speaker 1: like a canyon, right that you shout in. Yeah, so 332 00:17:50,359 --> 00:17:52,400 Speaker 1: I'm thinking at the Grand Canyon. I don't know, I've 333 00:17:52,400 --> 00:17:55,960 Speaker 1: never actually tried about, but at the Grand Canyon, I 334 00:17:55,960 --> 00:17:58,600 Speaker 1: should say, when you shout, you produce a sound that 335 00:17:58,880 --> 00:18:02,000 Speaker 1: um that makes sound waves, obviously, and that travels across 336 00:18:02,040 --> 00:18:04,960 Speaker 1: the canyon, and then the rock face on the opposite 337 00:18:05,000 --> 00:18:07,600 Speaker 1: side of the canyon deflects the air pressure energy of 338 00:18:07,640 --> 00:18:09,439 Speaker 1: the sound wave so that it begins moving in the 339 00:18:09,440 --> 00:18:13,119 Speaker 1: opposite direction, heading back to you. Okay, So if you're 340 00:18:13,160 --> 00:18:18,000 Speaker 1: in an area where at atmospheric pressure, then air composition 341 00:18:18,119 --> 00:18:21,479 Speaker 1: is constant. Sound waves always move at the same speed. 342 00:18:21,600 --> 00:18:23,639 Speaker 1: And if you knew the speed of sound in the area, 343 00:18:23,680 --> 00:18:26,040 Speaker 1: and you had a very precise stop watch, for instance, 344 00:18:26,080 --> 00:18:29,080 Speaker 1: you could use sound to determine the disness across the canyon. 345 00:18:29,080 --> 00:18:32,679 Speaker 1: And he says this is the basic principle of echolocation. 346 00:18:33,160 --> 00:18:36,080 Speaker 1: Bats are making sounds the same way that we do, 347 00:18:36,520 --> 00:18:40,360 Speaker 1: by moving air past their vibrating vocal cords. In some 348 00:18:40,440 --> 00:18:43,359 Speaker 1: bats emit the sounds from their mouth, which they hold 349 00:18:43,400 --> 00:18:46,359 Speaker 1: open as they fly, and others emit sounds through their nose. 350 00:18:46,960 --> 00:18:49,120 Speaker 1: So yes, the basic principle of radar and sonar, I'm 351 00:18:49,119 --> 00:18:52,320 Speaker 1: sending out these waves that they're bouncing off something. And uh. 352 00:18:52,560 --> 00:18:54,680 Speaker 1: In sonar and radar you have either you know, a 353 00:18:54,680 --> 00:18:57,679 Speaker 1: guy sitting there with a stopwatch or more likely a 354 00:18:57,760 --> 00:19:00,960 Speaker 1: machine that's interpreting that data and letting know what distance 355 00:19:01,600 --> 00:19:04,320 Speaker 1: has been traversed with the bat. Of course, it's all 356 00:19:04,359 --> 00:19:07,119 Speaker 1: taking place in the brain. Yeah, something that we couldn't 357 00:19:07,480 --> 00:19:10,600 Speaker 1: never do right of this different data coming back at them, 358 00:19:10,720 --> 00:19:13,000 Speaker 1: and it puts us back in the nagle area of 359 00:19:13,160 --> 00:19:16,159 Speaker 1: how how do we even imagine that we we can't right? Right, 360 00:19:16,160 --> 00:19:18,720 Speaker 1: because that that is something that is specific to them 361 00:19:18,840 --> 00:19:20,960 Speaker 1: and in second nature of course, and the way that 362 00:19:21,000 --> 00:19:25,280 Speaker 1: they can sit there in abstract um about this data 363 00:19:25,320 --> 00:19:27,960 Speaker 1: that's coming in. All right, so let's take a quick break. 364 00:19:27,960 --> 00:19:30,760 Speaker 1: But when we get back we will talk about these 365 00:19:31,040 --> 00:19:36,320 Speaker 1: finger like bones in the bats wings that are so 366 00:19:36,359 --> 00:19:40,520 Speaker 1: wonderful and creepy and important to their ability to apply. 367 00:19:45,520 --> 00:19:47,920 Speaker 1: All right, we're back, and yeah, we're about to take 368 00:19:47,960 --> 00:19:50,040 Speaker 1: wing with the bat. And if you look at the 369 00:19:50,240 --> 00:19:53,520 Speaker 1: any skeletal layout of the bat, and and there's one 370 00:19:53,560 --> 00:19:57,320 Speaker 1: with on our housetu works how bats work article, you'll 371 00:19:57,359 --> 00:20:00,240 Speaker 1: see that it really it's not a situation and of 372 00:20:00,720 --> 00:20:02,639 Speaker 1: and this is something that we kind of get gets 373 00:20:02,640 --> 00:20:05,600 Speaker 1: complicated with all of our visions of like bat like 374 00:20:05,800 --> 00:20:08,880 Speaker 1: wings and imagining creatures and dragons, you tend to see 375 00:20:08,880 --> 00:20:12,200 Speaker 1: a creature that has more like batman, you know, where 376 00:20:12,200 --> 00:20:14,159 Speaker 1: he has like more like a flying squirrel, where he 377 00:20:14,160 --> 00:20:16,600 Speaker 1: just has a bunch of webbing under his arms. But 378 00:20:16,840 --> 00:20:19,160 Speaker 1: most of what you're seeing with the bat's wings, those 379 00:20:19,160 --> 00:20:22,040 Speaker 1: are fingers, So that's it's a it's a hand that 380 00:20:22,080 --> 00:20:25,679 Speaker 1: has become wing. Yeah, and if you look at the 381 00:20:25,680 --> 00:20:28,959 Speaker 1: skeletal system, you will see what looks to be like 382 00:20:29,320 --> 00:20:33,320 Speaker 1: arms on on the wing stretched out on either side, 383 00:20:33,720 --> 00:20:37,720 Speaker 1: and then five fingers draping from that um. And it's 384 00:20:37,840 --> 00:20:40,760 Speaker 1: just it's amazing because what it's doing is it's creating 385 00:20:40,760 --> 00:20:43,399 Speaker 1: sort of like these spokes, just like the spokes for 386 00:20:43,400 --> 00:20:47,800 Speaker 1: an umbrella in terms of giving it structure but also mobility. Yeah, 387 00:20:47,840 --> 00:20:49,760 Speaker 1: and then you have this webbing in between that of 388 00:20:49,760 --> 00:20:52,440 Speaker 1: course becomes the wing surface and uh, and that material 389 00:20:52,600 --> 00:20:54,840 Speaker 1: also has a it's really really remarkable, and it has 390 00:20:54,880 --> 00:20:58,399 Speaker 1: a heels really swiftly as it would need to do 391 00:20:58,440 --> 00:21:00,240 Speaker 1: because if you get that that stuff gets tord worn 392 00:21:00,400 --> 00:21:03,920 Speaker 1: or or or bitten or clawed at in any way, 393 00:21:04,200 --> 00:21:06,159 Speaker 1: they need that to heal up pronto so that they 394 00:21:06,160 --> 00:21:08,960 Speaker 1: can fly again. Yeah, And that webbing, that elastic skin 395 00:21:09,040 --> 00:21:11,400 Speaker 1: stretches from the edge of the forelimb all the way 396 00:21:11,440 --> 00:21:13,840 Speaker 1: to the tip of an elongated little finger, and then 397 00:21:13,840 --> 00:21:16,800 Speaker 1: the wing attaches to the lateral side of the body 398 00:21:17,000 --> 00:21:19,680 Speaker 1: and lower limb down the ankle. And some bats also 399 00:21:19,840 --> 00:21:23,040 Speaker 1: have a membrane between their legs connecting to the tail, 400 00:21:23,520 --> 00:21:27,679 Speaker 1: and this hind leg wing integration is very different from 401 00:21:27,720 --> 00:21:30,840 Speaker 1: a bird obviously, and as we have mentioned, it's a 402 00:21:30,840 --> 00:21:33,199 Speaker 1: treat that's shared with gliders. So if we look at 403 00:21:33,200 --> 00:21:37,639 Speaker 1: the evolutionary flow of this, we can easily imagine a 404 00:21:37,680 --> 00:21:41,720 Speaker 1: creature in the distant past. It eats insects, It calls 405 00:21:41,760 --> 00:21:45,119 Speaker 1: up trees to eat insects. Eventually it takes two gliding 406 00:21:45,640 --> 00:21:49,760 Speaker 1: uh to catch more insects, and over time that evolves 407 00:21:49,800 --> 00:21:52,960 Speaker 1: into a full blown sense of flight, ability to fly 408 00:21:53,200 --> 00:21:55,959 Speaker 1: and catch things in the night. Yeah. Because really, what 409 00:21:56,000 --> 00:21:57,679 Speaker 1: you're looking at when you're looking at that, when you 410 00:21:57,720 --> 00:22:01,359 Speaker 1: see that it is a modified mammalian limb um. So 411 00:22:01,440 --> 00:22:04,600 Speaker 1: let's talk about something called the rogue finger gene. Yeah, 412 00:22:04,640 --> 00:22:07,080 Speaker 1: this is pretty pretty crazy. Uh. You know, the more 413 00:22:07,119 --> 00:22:09,440 Speaker 1: we've learned about the about genetics, we get to where 414 00:22:09,480 --> 00:22:13,959 Speaker 1: we can pinpoint individual genes that that you've you've present, 415 00:22:14,359 --> 00:22:20,280 Speaker 1: you've on can can cause remarkable changes in physiology. And 416 00:22:20,800 --> 00:22:23,480 Speaker 1: there's actually a study from Colorado Health Sciences Center in 417 00:22:23,560 --> 00:22:27,080 Speaker 1: Denver and they pinpointed the single gene that allows bats 418 00:22:27,160 --> 00:22:30,600 Speaker 1: to grow wings and fly, and it's called b MP 419 00:22:30,800 --> 00:22:34,000 Speaker 1: two and it's one of a family of genes that 420 00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:36,320 Speaker 1: are important for limb development in mammals. So you find 421 00:22:36,359 --> 00:22:39,080 Speaker 1: it in bats, but you don't find it in mice. Yeah, 422 00:22:39,160 --> 00:22:41,320 Speaker 1: And it's really cool because it does get this sort 423 00:22:41,320 --> 00:22:45,199 Speaker 1: of pinpoint how that's evolved because the problem here is 424 00:22:45,200 --> 00:22:47,320 Speaker 1: that we have um a bit of a gap in 425 00:22:47,320 --> 00:22:50,040 Speaker 1: the fossil record, right, so we don't necessarily know what 426 00:22:50,200 --> 00:22:52,120 Speaker 1: what sort of in between animal I guess you could 427 00:22:52,160 --> 00:22:56,080 Speaker 1: say that's truly evolved from. But knowing this, we can 428 00:22:56,160 --> 00:22:58,960 Speaker 1: we can point to the fact that um that bats 429 00:22:59,440 --> 00:23:02,040 Speaker 1: did have this gene or or they do have this 430 00:23:02,119 --> 00:23:05,520 Speaker 1: gene and it allowed that elongation of these finger bones, 431 00:23:05,680 --> 00:23:09,199 Speaker 1: which was really important in creating a wing with a 432 00:23:09,320 --> 00:23:12,720 Speaker 1: high aspect ratio. Meaning that all of a sudden, the 433 00:23:12,800 --> 00:23:16,000 Speaker 1: longer you know your UM, these fingers get and the 434 00:23:16,040 --> 00:23:18,800 Speaker 1: more membrane than, the easier it is to get lift 435 00:23:18,840 --> 00:23:22,120 Speaker 1: and to take off as a creature. So so important 436 00:23:22,160 --> 00:23:24,840 Speaker 1: because remember bats are the only group of mammals to 437 00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:28,160 Speaker 1: have evolved power powered flight, So this is a really 438 00:23:28,200 --> 00:23:30,639 Speaker 1: important aspect of it. And in fact, to get a 439 00:23:30,680 --> 00:23:34,399 Speaker 1: real good sense of of how this gene has affected 440 00:23:34,800 --> 00:23:38,199 Speaker 1: the growth of this UM bat's limbs, if you do 441 00:23:38,240 --> 00:23:41,520 Speaker 1: look at a skeletal system of them, what becomes apparent 442 00:23:42,040 --> 00:23:46,359 Speaker 1: UM is that it's so exaggerated, these these four limbs 443 00:23:46,359 --> 00:23:49,720 Speaker 1: that it sort of looks like Edward scissor hands. Yeah, 444 00:23:49,840 --> 00:23:53,240 Speaker 1: so imagine that, and then also know that scientists have 445 00:23:53,400 --> 00:23:56,960 Speaker 1: tinkered with some mice to mess with this gene to 446 00:23:57,040 --> 00:23:59,640 Speaker 1: see if they if they reduced it, if they took 447 00:23:59,640 --> 00:24:02,720 Speaker 1: it out of the sequence, what would happen. And they 448 00:24:02,800 --> 00:24:05,720 Speaker 1: did find that UM with with mice that they could 449 00:24:05,760 --> 00:24:09,000 Speaker 1: get something like a six percent increase in limbs when 450 00:24:09,000 --> 00:24:11,280 Speaker 1: they tinkered with it. The reason they use mice is 451 00:24:11,320 --> 00:24:14,840 Speaker 1: because again if you look at a mouse, very similar 452 00:24:14,880 --> 00:24:20,240 Speaker 1: to the physiology, the basic physiology of course UM then 453 00:24:20,600 --> 00:24:23,240 Speaker 1: as with a bat and so when they began to 454 00:24:23,280 --> 00:24:25,800 Speaker 1: see that increase, they said, Wow, that doesn't seem like much. 455 00:24:25,800 --> 00:24:28,240 Speaker 1: But if you had a six increase in the limbs 456 00:24:28,240 --> 00:24:30,560 Speaker 1: of a human, they would grow something like four inches. 457 00:24:30,680 --> 00:24:32,560 Speaker 1: We've got to figure out how to pump this into 458 00:24:32,600 --> 00:24:36,800 Speaker 1: basketball players, I know, right right. So again, powered flight 459 00:24:37,359 --> 00:24:40,800 Speaker 1: bat's not as good as this as birds. Powered flight 460 00:24:41,200 --> 00:24:44,000 Speaker 1: involves a tremendous amount of energy. Um. I mean, the 461 00:24:44,040 --> 00:24:45,840 Speaker 1: case can be made that it's really not an energy 462 00:24:45,880 --> 00:24:49,760 Speaker 1: efficient means of flight, but it's the only thing that 463 00:24:49,800 --> 00:24:53,280 Speaker 1: the nature can really achieve on this planet anyway. So 464 00:24:53,960 --> 00:24:56,600 Speaker 1: it's it's worth noting that that on the whole birds 465 00:24:56,680 --> 00:24:59,560 Speaker 1: versus bats thing. You will watch any bird. Most birds anyway, 466 00:25:00,240 --> 00:25:03,400 Speaker 1: don't have any real problem taking off from the ground. Um. 467 00:25:03,440 --> 00:25:05,800 Speaker 1: It's more of a struggle for some than for others, 468 00:25:05,800 --> 00:25:07,560 Speaker 1: so some have to really get kind of a running 469 00:25:07,560 --> 00:25:09,240 Speaker 1: start at it. But most of the birds that you 470 00:25:09,320 --> 00:25:11,760 Speaker 1: canna see around your backyard, they can just take right off. 471 00:25:12,160 --> 00:25:15,679 Speaker 1: Not so with the bat, which is why why you 472 00:25:16,119 --> 00:25:17,720 Speaker 1: if you go to a bat cave, or if you 473 00:25:17,880 --> 00:25:19,560 Speaker 1: or even just say, I say a tree where you'll 474 00:25:19,560 --> 00:25:22,159 Speaker 1: find fruit brats, bats roosting, or the top of a 475 00:25:22,160 --> 00:25:25,760 Speaker 1: bungalow in Mexico. They're they're hanging up there right, and 476 00:25:25,760 --> 00:25:28,080 Speaker 1: they're they're part of the advantage here. There are a 477 00:25:28,119 --> 00:25:31,440 Speaker 1: number of advantages to to roosting in this this position, 478 00:25:31,720 --> 00:25:33,400 Speaker 1: but one of them is that they can drop right 479 00:25:33,440 --> 00:25:37,400 Speaker 1: down into flight. There they just use gravity to achieve 480 00:25:38,119 --> 00:25:41,280 Speaker 1: to achieve that initial boost of lift, as opposed to 481 00:25:41,280 --> 00:25:45,000 Speaker 1: having to painstakingly flap their wings and get nowhere on 482 00:25:45,040 --> 00:25:47,600 Speaker 1: the ground or even try sort of a running lift 483 00:25:47,680 --> 00:25:50,000 Speaker 1: because they have such short time legs that they can't 484 00:25:50,000 --> 00:25:52,400 Speaker 1: even do that. Yeah, it always reminds me of there 485 00:25:52,440 --> 00:25:55,040 Speaker 1: was a plane back in Uh. There was an experimental 486 00:25:55,080 --> 00:26:00,400 Speaker 1: aircraft back in called the x F A five Goblin. Uh. 487 00:26:00,480 --> 00:26:02,800 Speaker 1: Some of you airplane buffs might be familiar with it. 488 00:26:03,040 --> 00:26:05,399 Speaker 1: And it was a stubby little plane. And the idea 489 00:26:05,440 --> 00:26:07,760 Speaker 1: that it was a parasitic fighter that it would you 490 00:26:07,760 --> 00:26:10,119 Speaker 1: would stow this in the belly of a bomber and 491 00:26:10,160 --> 00:26:13,359 Speaker 1: then a bomber on a long bombing run. It could 492 00:26:13,600 --> 00:26:15,840 Speaker 1: there's attacked by fighter planes, they could deploy this guy 493 00:26:15,880 --> 00:26:18,440 Speaker 1: to go out and deal with the problem. And uh, 494 00:26:18,520 --> 00:26:20,399 Speaker 1: and it was sort of launched in a similar way. 495 00:26:20,440 --> 00:26:22,440 Speaker 1: They would kind of hang it down from the from 496 00:26:22,600 --> 00:26:24,920 Speaker 1: from from the Bombay and then just let it drop 497 00:26:24,960 --> 00:26:28,600 Speaker 1: and then it with a cheap flight. Yeah. See, I 498 00:26:28,640 --> 00:26:31,480 Speaker 1: mean it's Do you think they took that example from nature? 499 00:26:31,800 --> 00:26:33,639 Speaker 1: I don't know, you know that, I mean, in a 500 00:26:33,720 --> 00:26:35,679 Speaker 1: sense they did. I mean it's the same some of 501 00:26:35,680 --> 00:26:39,320 Speaker 1: the same physics. Yeah, just like sonar is taken from 502 00:26:39,400 --> 00:26:44,119 Speaker 1: from basically a location. All right, let's talk about how 503 00:26:44,160 --> 00:26:49,560 Speaker 1: these guys feed. And we had mentioned the vampire bat, 504 00:26:49,960 --> 00:26:52,720 Speaker 1: but I did want to point out that most of 505 00:26:52,760 --> 00:26:57,359 Speaker 1: the bats are insectivores, and meaning that they eat insects 506 00:26:57,400 --> 00:26:59,880 Speaker 1: and the brown bat, which is indigenous for North America, 507 00:27:00,000 --> 00:27:04,160 Speaker 1: and catch and eat as many as twelve hundred mosquitoes 508 00:27:04,280 --> 00:27:06,760 Speaker 1: in one hour exactly. That's why I wanted these guys 509 00:27:06,800 --> 00:27:09,960 Speaker 1: living in my backyard. I get it, right, I know. 510 00:27:10,200 --> 00:27:13,000 Speaker 1: And it's particularly in conditions like we've had here in 511 00:27:13,040 --> 00:27:15,520 Speaker 1: the South, where there's just I mean to spend mosquito 512 00:27:15,600 --> 00:27:19,520 Speaker 1: crazy it's been. They've been so excited. Um, this is 513 00:27:19,520 --> 00:27:23,000 Speaker 1: really important to the ecosystem and of course to my legs, 514 00:27:23,600 --> 00:27:26,440 Speaker 1: um not becoming devoured. But I do want to mention 515 00:27:26,440 --> 00:27:28,960 Speaker 1: too that there is brack and cave in Texas and 516 00:27:29,000 --> 00:27:32,680 Speaker 1: that contains more than twenty million fats. Imagine the amount 517 00:27:32,680 --> 00:27:35,880 Speaker 1: of I guana in that one and uh, they eat 518 00:27:35,920 --> 00:27:40,520 Speaker 1: about two hundred tons of insects every night. Nice, imagine 519 00:27:40,800 --> 00:27:43,560 Speaker 1: without those guys doing their job, everything we just get 520 00:27:43,680 --> 00:27:47,120 Speaker 1: out of whack fast. But not everyone eats insects. Again, 521 00:27:47,160 --> 00:27:50,639 Speaker 1: you have the vampire bad which is is the only 522 00:27:50,680 --> 00:27:55,600 Speaker 1: mammal that lives exclusively on blood. And uh and typically 523 00:27:55,640 --> 00:27:58,480 Speaker 1: these things gathering colonies about a hundred animals sometimes and 524 00:27:58,640 --> 00:28:01,880 Speaker 1: loving groups of a thousand or war and uh they 525 00:28:01,920 --> 00:28:05,120 Speaker 1: say that in one year, uh, a one strong bat 526 00:28:05,160 --> 00:28:09,200 Speaker 1: colony can drink the blood of twenty five cows. And now, yeah, 527 00:28:09,240 --> 00:28:12,240 Speaker 1: and they're not tapping the cows out here. I mean 528 00:28:12,280 --> 00:28:15,159 Speaker 1: that they drink them a little bit of their blood. Right. 529 00:28:15,359 --> 00:28:18,160 Speaker 1: It's it's kind of like it's almost well not really 530 00:28:18,160 --> 00:28:21,560 Speaker 1: a parasitic relationship, but there they can serve the cows. 531 00:28:21,720 --> 00:28:24,600 Speaker 1: They are in a way, they're milking the cow, and 532 00:28:24,640 --> 00:28:26,399 Speaker 1: they want that cow to be there tomorrow and the 533 00:28:26,440 --> 00:28:27,960 Speaker 1: next night and the next time when they come back 534 00:28:28,000 --> 00:28:30,640 Speaker 1: for more and more blood. But what's the one thing 535 00:28:30,680 --> 00:28:33,719 Speaker 1: that I was really surprised by because I guess I 536 00:28:33,920 --> 00:28:36,000 Speaker 1: you know, I knew about vampire bats. I've always known 537 00:28:36,000 --> 00:28:37,679 Speaker 1: about vampire bats, but they didn't really know all the 538 00:28:37,720 --> 00:28:40,719 Speaker 1: hard facts about them, like, for instance, that vampire bats 539 00:28:40,880 --> 00:28:44,440 Speaker 1: strike their victim from the ground, which is which is 540 00:28:44,480 --> 00:28:47,000 Speaker 1: something you in the movies. You see like vampire bats 541 00:28:47,000 --> 00:28:50,120 Speaker 1: are swooping around the heroine's head and she's screaming, right, 542 00:28:50,680 --> 00:28:53,400 Speaker 1: But the tactic is a bit different. The idea is 543 00:28:53,440 --> 00:28:56,800 Speaker 1: to land in near the prey and then creep up 544 00:28:56,840 --> 00:28:58,680 Speaker 1: to it on all fours and with that kind of 545 00:28:58,720 --> 00:29:03,040 Speaker 1: awkward back crawl um that batman never seems to really use. 546 00:29:03,240 --> 00:29:05,400 Speaker 1: Uh you know, he's all into humulating the bat, but 547 00:29:05,440 --> 00:29:10,880 Speaker 1: he doesn't really do though. Yeah so um yeah, So 548 00:29:10,920 --> 00:29:13,600 Speaker 1: the bat hash is crawling up to the cow, and 549 00:29:13,640 --> 00:29:16,040 Speaker 1: then the bat will use a heat sense a run 550 00:29:16,080 --> 00:29:18,240 Speaker 1: its nose that points it towards the spot with the 551 00:29:18,240 --> 00:29:21,640 Speaker 1: warm blood is flowing just beneath the skin. And then 552 00:29:21,640 --> 00:29:24,280 Speaker 1: it will leap up and it will use its um 553 00:29:24,320 --> 00:29:27,120 Speaker 1: it's sharp little razor teeth to open up a little 554 00:29:27,360 --> 00:29:30,320 Speaker 1: tap if you will, and then uh, it's will begin 555 00:29:30,440 --> 00:29:32,800 Speaker 1: lapping at the blood and it's saliva provents the blood 556 00:29:32,800 --> 00:29:36,440 Speaker 1: from clotting while it's feeding. It actually has a specialized 557 00:29:36,480 --> 00:29:38,920 Speaker 1: tongue to lap up the blood as well. It's it's 558 00:29:38,920 --> 00:29:42,200 Speaker 1: got little rivulets in it. Nice. Yeah, it's pretty amazing. 559 00:29:42,200 --> 00:29:45,400 Speaker 1: It's found in Mexico, Central America, and South America. And 560 00:29:45,400 --> 00:29:48,080 Speaker 1: then you also another important thing. Not only are bats 561 00:29:48,280 --> 00:29:51,880 Speaker 1: doing us a huge service in curving insect populations, but 562 00:29:51,960 --> 00:29:56,000 Speaker 1: they're also in some areas major pollinators. Uh. Their bats 563 00:29:56,000 --> 00:29:59,760 Speaker 1: that drink nectar and UH. And they're important pollinators of 564 00:29:59,800 --> 00:30:03,920 Speaker 1: say the organ pipe cactus UH in the United States. UH. 565 00:30:03,960 --> 00:30:10,360 Speaker 1: They're also pollinators of really important cash crops like mango, cashew, balsa, agata, 566 00:30:10,560 --> 00:30:14,440 Speaker 1: bananas very important. And in some cases you actually have 567 00:30:14,520 --> 00:30:17,360 Speaker 1: bats that are the primary pollinators of a of a 568 00:30:17,560 --> 00:30:20,280 Speaker 1: of the plant. So it's a it's just a one 569 00:30:20,320 --> 00:30:22,680 Speaker 1: to one relationship between these two guys. If one goes 570 00:30:22,720 --> 00:30:25,640 Speaker 1: and the other one is in serious trouble. And some 571 00:30:25,720 --> 00:30:27,640 Speaker 1: of these guys are crazy too, because they have like 572 00:30:27,720 --> 00:30:31,800 Speaker 1: extra long tongues basically like a like the probiscus of 573 00:30:31,520 --> 00:30:34,960 Speaker 1: a of a butterfly used to get nectar from a 574 00:30:35,000 --> 00:30:39,560 Speaker 1: particular flower. UM. Sue Bernard, she is a lead keeper 575 00:30:39,680 --> 00:30:42,959 Speaker 1: at Zoo Atlanta, has said that UM that they also 576 00:30:43,080 --> 00:30:47,719 Speaker 1: are responsible for up to eight of reforestation because of 577 00:30:47,760 --> 00:30:51,480 Speaker 1: the seed droppings um from from the fruit that they eat. 578 00:30:51,480 --> 00:30:55,280 Speaker 1: You try the fruit eaters, they're they're the whole relationship 579 00:30:55,320 --> 00:30:58,000 Speaker 1: here is I give you some some delicious fruit because 580 00:30:58,280 --> 00:30:59,880 Speaker 1: some seeds in it. If you could poop that some 581 00:31:00,000 --> 00:31:03,200 Speaker 1: were to grow, that would be great. And the bats like, yeah, 582 00:31:03,200 --> 00:31:05,840 Speaker 1: sure I can do that, yeah yeah um. And she 583 00:31:05,920 --> 00:31:09,160 Speaker 1: also said that in terms of um pollinating, that between 584 00:31:09,280 --> 00:31:12,800 Speaker 1: two and three hundred products and grocery stores are bat derived, 585 00:31:13,120 --> 00:31:17,280 Speaker 1: and some of those especially, Yeah, you have to look. 586 00:31:17,280 --> 00:31:23,000 Speaker 1: It's that it's there under chicken, beef, seafood product, cattle 587 00:31:23,000 --> 00:31:28,560 Speaker 1: by product, and eventually bat exactly. But peaches, plums, pears 588 00:31:29,320 --> 00:31:32,480 Speaker 1: would we wouldn't have them without bats. And speaking of 589 00:31:32,520 --> 00:31:35,280 Speaker 1: the amount of fruits that they ingest, I think this 590 00:31:35,360 --> 00:31:38,240 Speaker 1: is really interesting. Um. Every once in a while they 591 00:31:38,240 --> 00:31:41,160 Speaker 1: will come upon, you know, the green parts of tomato 592 00:31:41,280 --> 00:31:44,160 Speaker 1: that you've seen before, or the green parts on a fruit, 593 00:31:44,760 --> 00:31:47,240 Speaker 1: and this is not a good thing. It's a secondary 594 00:31:47,320 --> 00:31:51,040 Speaker 1: plant compound. Yeah, especially bad for light taking. Bat mother's 595 00:31:51,320 --> 00:31:54,800 Speaker 1: yeah and pregnant that yeah, I can actually affect that 596 00:31:54,920 --> 00:31:59,080 Speaker 1: the development of the fetus. Um. So what happens is 597 00:31:59,280 --> 00:32:02,280 Speaker 1: that these female bats because they have consumed some of 598 00:32:02,320 --> 00:32:06,640 Speaker 1: these plant compounds secondary plant compounds. They will compensate the 599 00:32:06,720 --> 00:32:11,000 Speaker 1: toxicity of these compounds by eating mineral rich clay or water. 600 00:32:11,800 --> 00:32:15,920 Speaker 1: And according to Dr Christine Voit, local people in Africa 601 00:32:15,920 --> 00:32:19,120 Speaker 1: and South America um also some parts of Africa are 602 00:32:19,120 --> 00:32:24,400 Speaker 1: familiar with the detoxic detoxifying qualities of mineral rich clay 603 00:32:24,480 --> 00:32:27,400 Speaker 1: and consume it during pregnancy and lactation. Yeah, you see 604 00:32:27,400 --> 00:32:30,960 Speaker 1: this in in in many animals. Really, if there there's 605 00:32:30,960 --> 00:32:32,960 Speaker 1: an animal that is it is eating something and have 606 00:32:33,080 --> 00:32:35,280 Speaker 1: some sort of toxic effects, you know, they can't just 607 00:32:35,360 --> 00:32:38,640 Speaker 1: turn to have a little tongues. They have to scark 608 00:32:38,680 --> 00:32:40,960 Speaker 1: down some clay or some some sort of dirt to 609 00:32:41,000 --> 00:32:43,680 Speaker 1: deal with it. Yeah, or hang around salt licks. Yeah. 610 00:32:43,760 --> 00:32:45,680 Speaker 1: All right, so let's dive into the back colony. We've 611 00:32:45,680 --> 00:32:47,920 Speaker 1: already talked about the roosting a little bit like they 612 00:32:48,080 --> 00:32:50,080 Speaker 1: the flight advantages of it, but of course there are 613 00:32:50,080 --> 00:32:52,160 Speaker 1: other advantages to living on the roof of a cave 614 00:32:52,240 --> 00:32:55,120 Speaker 1: as well. For starters. What else lives on the roof 615 00:32:55,120 --> 00:32:59,840 Speaker 1: of a cave, right, Insects? Well, insects, but in terms 616 00:32:59,640 --> 00:33:01,680 Speaker 1: so yeah, there there may be food up there, but 617 00:33:01,720 --> 00:33:04,320 Speaker 1: for the most part, it's a safe place to hide out. 618 00:33:04,640 --> 00:33:06,880 Speaker 1: Now the bottom of the cave underneath where the bats 619 00:33:06,920 --> 00:33:09,440 Speaker 1: are living, because that's a different story. You can have 620 00:33:09,520 --> 00:33:12,280 Speaker 1: some baby bat falls down there and injured, or old 621 00:33:12,280 --> 00:33:15,240 Speaker 1: bat plummets to the bottom of the cave. There's no 622 00:33:15,280 --> 00:33:18,280 Speaker 1: telling how many things will be ready to eat it up. Um. 623 00:33:18,360 --> 00:33:21,000 Speaker 1: You'll have their their insects that can do this job. 624 00:33:21,040 --> 00:33:24,120 Speaker 1: You'll have surface animals that wander down for these eating 625 00:33:24,160 --> 00:33:27,760 Speaker 1: meals like skunks. Um. Again, it was I think it 626 00:33:27,840 --> 00:33:31,040 Speaker 1: was a Planet Earth War Life of Mammals. One of 627 00:33:31,040 --> 00:33:36,920 Speaker 1: the Miniattinborough Discovery Channel BBC CO Productions has a gem 628 00:33:36,960 --> 00:33:39,160 Speaker 1: sequence where you see these awful skunks going down there 629 00:33:39,200 --> 00:33:43,120 Speaker 1: to eat baby bats. I do recall and in one 630 00:33:43,160 --> 00:33:46,520 Speaker 1: of the episodes, um that I think it was where 631 00:33:46,560 --> 00:33:48,680 Speaker 1: there were three million bats and this was in a 632 00:33:48,760 --> 00:33:52,320 Speaker 1: cave in Borneo with the giant Guando mountain. Yeah, like 633 00:33:52,360 --> 00:33:54,560 Speaker 1: Guando Molton because then that of course is going that 634 00:33:54,600 --> 00:33:58,960 Speaker 1: Guano mountain is feeding cockroaches primarily, but then cockroach has 635 00:33:59,000 --> 00:34:01,200 Speaker 1: become another food, so ors and so on and so forth. 636 00:34:01,280 --> 00:34:04,280 Speaker 1: It becomes this whole yeah, cave ecosystem that is dependent 637 00:34:04,360 --> 00:34:06,840 Speaker 1: upon the bat colony, which is which is fascinating. That's 638 00:34:06,920 --> 00:34:09,919 Speaker 1: that's the whole podcast in he spent an entire month 639 00:34:10,239 --> 00:34:13,400 Speaker 1: filming in that yeah cave, waiting through the go No, 640 00:34:13,520 --> 00:34:16,680 Speaker 1: I mean literally waiting through it. But yeah, let's talk 641 00:34:16,680 --> 00:34:18,960 Speaker 1: about these colonies a little bit. Uh. It is, of 642 00:34:19,000 --> 00:34:22,760 Speaker 1: course a very great place for bats to stay. It's cold, 643 00:34:23,120 --> 00:34:27,359 Speaker 1: dark conditions. It's ideal for me maintaining their body temperatures 644 00:34:27,800 --> 00:34:29,879 Speaker 1: during sleep or what we call sleep, which is really 645 00:34:29,920 --> 00:34:33,399 Speaker 1: torpor hibernation. And the potabtles them slows down and maybe 646 00:34:33,400 --> 00:34:36,080 Speaker 1: I found that rabies. If that has rabies, it'll act 647 00:34:36,120 --> 00:34:39,839 Speaker 1: slower on them during this that's right, yeah, yeah, um. 648 00:34:39,960 --> 00:34:42,799 Speaker 1: And it also provides cover from predators, as you pointed out, 649 00:34:43,320 --> 00:34:47,680 Speaker 1: and it is an ideal gathering spot for socializing, including mating. Yeah, 650 00:34:48,520 --> 00:34:50,920 Speaker 1: I should point out real quick. Just one more note 651 00:34:50,920 --> 00:34:53,000 Speaker 1: about hanging upside down in the bat cave. If you 652 00:34:53,120 --> 00:34:54,800 Speaker 1: or I were to do it, we wouldn't last that 653 00:34:54,840 --> 00:35:01,160 Speaker 1: long because it would be tremendously painful for muscle would 654 00:35:01,200 --> 00:35:03,600 Speaker 1: just have a time with that, and I'd fall and 655 00:35:03,640 --> 00:35:08,080 Speaker 1: a skunk with eating the order. But the cool thing 656 00:35:08,080 --> 00:35:12,120 Speaker 1: about the bats is that gravity keeps their talents closed 657 00:35:12,160 --> 00:35:14,840 Speaker 1: instead of a contracted muscle, So the bat doesn't actually 658 00:35:14,840 --> 00:35:17,480 Speaker 1: have to exert any effort to hang like that. Yeah. 659 00:35:17,560 --> 00:35:21,399 Speaker 1: Once they basically clicked together their talents, that just they 660 00:35:21,480 --> 00:35:23,719 Speaker 1: just hang right there and they, as you say, they 661 00:35:23,719 --> 00:35:27,520 Speaker 1: don't have to use any muscle energy to keep them shut. Um. 662 00:35:27,560 --> 00:35:29,360 Speaker 1: And it was reading though that when they want to 663 00:35:29,360 --> 00:35:31,719 Speaker 1: come out of it, then they do have to obviously 664 00:35:31,760 --> 00:35:33,880 Speaker 1: activate their muscles in order to try to get them 665 00:35:33,920 --> 00:35:36,560 Speaker 1: pride open again. Yeah. So it's the exact opposite of 666 00:35:36,600 --> 00:35:40,279 Speaker 1: me hanging from the roof of a cave. Yes, yes, 667 00:35:40,760 --> 00:35:45,480 Speaker 1: unless you grow very large talents. Um. Okay. I want 668 00:35:45,480 --> 00:35:48,200 Speaker 1: to talk about specialization because I think this is really interesting. 669 00:35:48,600 --> 00:35:52,600 Speaker 1: The National Environment Research Console reports that bats build long 670 00:35:52,719 --> 00:35:56,640 Speaker 1: term companionship with other individuals and these companions are members 671 00:35:56,680 --> 00:35:59,680 Speaker 1: of exclusive social groups that can last for many years. 672 00:35:59,719 --> 00:36:02,600 Speaker 1: And the this was from Tom August from the Center 673 00:36:02,640 --> 00:36:05,799 Speaker 1: for Ecology and Hydrology, and he actually built up a 674 00:36:05,880 --> 00:36:10,919 Speaker 1: spider web diagram to reveal bats social networks. And even 675 00:36:10,920 --> 00:36:13,000 Speaker 1: though bats change where they sleep in the cave every 676 00:36:13,000 --> 00:36:14,960 Speaker 1: few days, what he found is that they cluster with 677 00:36:15,000 --> 00:36:17,839 Speaker 1: the same bats and that groups appear to be made 678 00:36:17,880 --> 00:36:21,279 Speaker 1: up of twenty to forty. Individuals and researchers have also 679 00:36:21,400 --> 00:36:26,320 Speaker 1: witnessed territorial disputes as well as altruistic acts like bringing 680 00:36:26,320 --> 00:36:29,920 Speaker 1: food to sick of that friends we can't hunt for themselves, 681 00:36:32,400 --> 00:36:35,239 Speaker 1: and that bats can also use the characteristics of other 682 00:36:35,320 --> 00:36:38,840 Speaker 1: bats voices to recognize each other. Um This is according 683 00:36:38,840 --> 00:36:42,680 Speaker 1: to a study by researchers from the University of to Bingjin, 684 00:36:43,239 --> 00:36:47,000 Speaker 1: Germany and the University of Applied Sciences in Constants, Germany. 685 00:36:47,040 --> 00:36:49,600 Speaker 1: And The researchers first tested the ability of four greater 686 00:36:49,719 --> 00:36:53,800 Speaker 1: mass eared bats distinguished between the echolocation calls of other bats, 687 00:36:54,560 --> 00:36:56,880 Speaker 1: and after observing that the bats learned to discriminate the 688 00:36:56,920 --> 00:36:59,680 Speaker 1: voices of other bats, they then programmed a computer model 689 00:36:59,719 --> 00:37:04,120 Speaker 1: that produces the recognition behavior of the bats, and analysis 690 00:37:04,160 --> 00:37:07,200 Speaker 1: of the model suggest that the spectral energy distribution and 691 00:37:07,239 --> 00:37:12,360 Speaker 1: the signals contain individual specific information that allows bats to 692 00:37:12,360 --> 00:37:14,680 Speaker 1: recognize each other, which I think it's pretty fascinating. So 693 00:37:14,760 --> 00:37:17,759 Speaker 1: inside the cave you have this tremendous sense of community. 694 00:37:18,400 --> 00:37:22,120 Speaker 1: Everybody's hanging out literally, and then when the sun goes down, 695 00:37:22,200 --> 00:37:24,399 Speaker 1: everybody exits the cave and what does it look like. 696 00:37:24,680 --> 00:37:27,640 Speaker 1: It is amazing because it is three million bats exiting 697 00:37:27,840 --> 00:37:29,719 Speaker 1: right in which you can take a while. Um, it 698 00:37:29,760 --> 00:37:33,320 Speaker 1: can actually take up to three hours. And the bats 699 00:37:33,360 --> 00:37:38,000 Speaker 1: form a swirling donut shaped figure that looks like a superorganism. 700 00:37:38,040 --> 00:37:44,000 Speaker 1: And that's so predators are confused. Although if if you yes, 701 00:37:44,160 --> 00:37:45,960 Speaker 1: exactly and they that's why you kind of see them 702 00:37:46,080 --> 00:37:49,400 Speaker 1: darting about in changing direction. And that's what's so amazing 703 00:37:49,440 --> 00:37:52,399 Speaker 1: about how that donut ship continues to scirreluc Again, there 704 00:37:52,400 --> 00:37:56,160 Speaker 1: are birds, predatory birds, the hawks, etcetera, that love to 705 00:37:56,160 --> 00:37:59,720 Speaker 1: have themselves a little bat for dinner. Yeah, yeah, Actually, um, 706 00:37:59,760 --> 00:38:02,240 Speaker 1: you know that doesn't really work on birds of prey 707 00:38:02,400 --> 00:38:04,400 Speaker 1: like falcons because I can still just pluck them out 708 00:38:04,400 --> 00:38:06,440 Speaker 1: of the air with these, but um, I do think 709 00:38:06,440 --> 00:38:10,239 Speaker 1: that's interesting. Bat biologist Nuclear lay feast Off of u 710 00:38:10,400 --> 00:38:13,720 Speaker 1: n C Center for Design, Innovation and Winston and Winston 711 00:38:13,760 --> 00:38:17,600 Speaker 1: Singalem State University says that when filming a bat exodus, 712 00:38:17,640 --> 00:38:21,480 Speaker 1: it's just it's a quite an experience because you say 713 00:38:21,520 --> 00:38:24,040 Speaker 1: that you can feel the wind from thousands of wind 714 00:38:24,400 --> 00:38:26,920 Speaker 1: queens batting. If you happen to stand up in the 715 00:38:26,960 --> 00:38:30,720 Speaker 1: wrong um area, you will get hit by bats. Obviously 716 00:38:30,800 --> 00:38:34,840 Speaker 1: they don't care. Um, that that many bats exiting just 717 00:38:34,920 --> 00:38:38,480 Speaker 1: changes to the quality of light in that area. The 718 00:38:38,800 --> 00:38:43,720 Speaker 1: light dims, the light dims, and he said, smells atrocious. 719 00:38:43,800 --> 00:38:46,480 Speaker 1: That you will get background on you, you will get urine. 720 00:38:47,040 --> 00:38:50,279 Speaker 1: It is. It is a very dramatic exit. All right, 721 00:38:50,280 --> 00:38:53,400 Speaker 1: we're in the home stretch now, and it's worth noting 722 00:38:53,440 --> 00:38:57,239 Speaker 1: that again, there's so many different species of bats out there, 723 00:38:57,560 --> 00:39:02,080 Speaker 1: and and some of them have really evolved some some 724 00:39:02,080 --> 00:39:06,280 Speaker 1: some very interesting ways of getting about. Uh. For instance, 725 00:39:06,680 --> 00:39:10,920 Speaker 1: you do have bats that swim. In fact, the facts 726 00:39:10,960 --> 00:39:14,160 Speaker 1: are still being generated on this, but it looks like 727 00:39:14,160 --> 00:39:17,000 Speaker 1: a lot of varieties of bats can swim if they 728 00:39:17,160 --> 00:39:21,200 Speaker 1: have to um, if they're under stress, if it's obviously 729 00:39:21,239 --> 00:39:23,840 Speaker 1: if it's a situation of of life or death. You 730 00:39:23,880 --> 00:39:27,000 Speaker 1: have bats of course that that feed up off of fish, 731 00:39:27,040 --> 00:39:29,960 Speaker 1: like the ones I observed in in Costa Rica. Occasionally 732 00:39:30,239 --> 00:39:32,080 Speaker 1: bats like that will wind up in the water and 733 00:39:32,080 --> 00:39:34,359 Speaker 1: they're gonna need to swim for it. Whether or not 734 00:39:34,400 --> 00:39:36,960 Speaker 1: they can actually outswim the things that are waiting for 735 00:39:37,040 --> 00:39:40,840 Speaker 1: bats to fall in the water, that's kind of a 736 00:39:40,960 --> 00:39:44,400 Speaker 1: to nature to decide. But but but we have observed 737 00:39:44,680 --> 00:39:49,359 Speaker 1: bats swimming even underwater in those situations, and you had 738 00:39:49,400 --> 00:39:52,160 Speaker 1: mentioned about that, you guys saw that's the greater bulldog 739 00:39:52,239 --> 00:39:56,800 Speaker 1: that and um that it actually uses echolocation to pinpoint 740 00:39:56,840 --> 00:39:59,160 Speaker 1: the ripples in the water, will say like a minnow's 741 00:39:59,280 --> 00:40:02,600 Speaker 1: fin has has um gone through it, and it either 742 00:40:02,719 --> 00:40:05,600 Speaker 1: dives in head first or it will trawl the surface 743 00:40:05,719 --> 00:40:09,399 Speaker 1: of the water with its talents. And then of course 744 00:40:09,400 --> 00:40:12,600 Speaker 1: we mentioned the vampire bats that land near the cow 745 00:40:13,000 --> 00:40:17,000 Speaker 1: or these sleeping human and and then then creep in 746 00:40:17,120 --> 00:40:20,520 Speaker 1: for the kill, which their sexy back crawl. But but 747 00:40:20,520 --> 00:40:22,480 Speaker 1: but it's not alone. There's also the New Zealand short 748 00:40:22,480 --> 00:40:25,600 Speaker 1: tailed bat. And this guy is really interesting because you've 749 00:40:26,160 --> 00:40:29,680 Speaker 1: evolved in New Zealand, which until the arrival of humans, 750 00:40:29,719 --> 00:40:33,480 Speaker 1: there were no native mammals other than bats, so so 751 00:40:33,920 --> 00:40:36,759 Speaker 1: he had a free for all pretty much. So he 752 00:40:36,880 --> 00:40:39,120 Speaker 1: actually you and I don't know what I'm calling me. 753 00:40:39,200 --> 00:40:42,600 Speaker 1: He I should come. She her as she she evolved 754 00:40:42,880 --> 00:40:45,680 Speaker 1: so that she could actually move around more in the ground, 755 00:40:45,680 --> 00:40:50,440 Speaker 1: feeding onto restaural invertebrates as well as flying. So so 756 00:40:50,520 --> 00:40:53,359 Speaker 1: this particular species of bat is actually rather adapt at 757 00:40:53,880 --> 00:40:56,000 Speaker 1: using a second location in the air for prey, but 758 00:40:56,120 --> 00:40:59,440 Speaker 1: also using a sense of smell to hunt on the ground. 759 00:41:00,280 --> 00:41:02,440 Speaker 1: I found that pretty pretty crazy. And now I've seen 760 00:41:02,440 --> 00:41:07,360 Speaker 1: some footage of these guys, it's really cool. They're just scampering. Um. 761 00:41:07,400 --> 00:41:10,000 Speaker 1: And then I mentioned earlier, I mentioned the wrinkly face 762 00:41:10,080 --> 00:41:14,919 Speaker 1: bat who has the awesome name of Centurio Cynics and 763 00:41:15,080 --> 00:41:17,839 Speaker 1: uh and I believe this is the one on our 764 00:41:17,880 --> 00:41:22,319 Speaker 1: Facebook page stuff to blow your mind. A few weeks back, 765 00:41:22,400 --> 00:41:26,160 Speaker 1: I posted one of these old illustrations German illustrations, scientific 766 00:41:26,160 --> 00:41:29,560 Speaker 1: illustrations to the various bat faces. Yeah, and the one 767 00:41:29,600 --> 00:41:32,480 Speaker 1: that's because you get to see all this just amazing diversification. 768 00:41:32,880 --> 00:41:35,560 Speaker 1: And there's like one super round wrinkly bat face that 769 00:41:36,120 --> 00:41:38,600 Speaker 1: it's a face that looks like a wax seal on 770 00:41:38,640 --> 00:41:40,560 Speaker 1: a on an envelope, you know, like an old timey 771 00:41:40,560 --> 00:41:42,800 Speaker 1: wax seal, like that kind of face. And the really 772 00:41:43,080 --> 00:41:46,440 Speaker 1: interesting thing about this guy is that they've they've conducted 773 00:41:46,480 --> 00:41:51,240 Speaker 1: studies into his an oddly faced, oddly shaped skull, because 774 00:41:51,640 --> 00:41:54,440 Speaker 1: it turns out he has a really powerful job and 775 00:41:54,760 --> 00:41:58,520 Speaker 1: like more powerful than than carnivorous bats. And this is 776 00:41:58,520 --> 00:42:00,600 Speaker 1: a bat that eats fruit. So it's been kind of 777 00:42:00,640 --> 00:42:02,520 Speaker 1: a puzzle for scientists, like why why has he got 778 00:42:02,520 --> 00:42:05,960 Speaker 1: this super powerful jaw. If he's just dining on soft fruits, 779 00:42:05,960 --> 00:42:08,520 Speaker 1: he's not even getting like hard fruits. So the theory 780 00:42:08,640 --> 00:42:12,919 Speaker 1: is that, of course he hasn't always depended upon soft fruits. 781 00:42:12,960 --> 00:42:15,480 Speaker 1: That that he's and and that's why he's retained this 782 00:42:15,600 --> 00:42:20,400 Speaker 1: ability to to chew on harder uh materials. Isn't the 783 00:42:20,480 --> 00:42:25,319 Speaker 1: job of something like uh, it's stronger than other bat jaws. Yeah, 784 00:42:25,320 --> 00:42:28,600 Speaker 1: it's crazy. Yeah, he's a little guy too, and the 785 00:42:28,680 --> 00:42:31,759 Speaker 1: face is really amazing. Yeah. And of course we are 786 00:42:31,800 --> 00:42:35,800 Speaker 1: still finding new species of bats, which I think is amazing. 787 00:42:35,840 --> 00:42:39,360 Speaker 1: Like just this month September two thousand twelve, in Eastern Africa, 788 00:42:39,400 --> 00:42:42,239 Speaker 1: they discovered four new species of bats. So we're just 789 00:42:42,280 --> 00:42:46,279 Speaker 1: continually continuing to add to our understanding of how bats work, 790 00:42:46,600 --> 00:42:49,560 Speaker 1: as well as our understanding of how many bats we have. 791 00:42:50,280 --> 00:42:53,839 Speaker 1: It's really amazing stuff when you consider the sort of 792 00:42:53,840 --> 00:42:57,040 Speaker 1: tricks that they have up their sleeve. Um. And again 793 00:42:57,080 --> 00:43:00,279 Speaker 1: we'll talk about echo location in the next podcast. But 794 00:43:01,560 --> 00:43:04,440 Speaker 1: the more that we can learn about these these creatures, 795 00:43:04,480 --> 00:43:06,799 Speaker 1: I think the better off we could become, even if 796 00:43:06,840 --> 00:43:11,160 Speaker 1: we can't fully understand or inhabit their mind. Right. Yeah, 797 00:43:11,880 --> 00:43:13,120 Speaker 1: So I'm gonna I'm gonna leave you in just a 798 00:43:13,120 --> 00:43:15,560 Speaker 1: couple of notes. We're gonna we're gonna skip the listener 799 00:43:15,600 --> 00:43:17,359 Speaker 1: mail since I think we've gone a bit long here. 800 00:43:17,400 --> 00:43:21,239 Speaker 1: But a little bit of outside reading here. Check out 801 00:43:21,280 --> 00:43:25,000 Speaker 1: a book called after man Cohen, A Zoology of the 802 00:43:25,000 --> 00:43:29,520 Speaker 1: Future by Dougal Dixon. It's actually the work of a geologist, 803 00:43:29,800 --> 00:43:33,440 Speaker 1: um and author, but he uh it's like a crazy, 804 00:43:33,600 --> 00:43:38,439 Speaker 1: awesomely illustrated book that is uh sort of imagining what 805 00:43:38,800 --> 00:43:41,440 Speaker 1: life on Earth now might evolve into in the future. 806 00:43:41,880 --> 00:43:44,280 Speaker 1: And there's a whole section like he clearly loved bats 807 00:43:44,320 --> 00:43:47,120 Speaker 1: and loved the ideas of of of an animal evolving 808 00:43:47,120 --> 00:43:52,320 Speaker 1: for flight and then re adapting to new situations, certainly 809 00:43:52,360 --> 00:43:54,759 Speaker 1: like a winged baton New in New Zealand that also 810 00:43:54,800 --> 00:43:56,759 Speaker 1: is running around the ground, that kind of thing. And 811 00:43:57,000 --> 00:43:59,960 Speaker 1: there's a whole island, uh fictional island he creates an 812 00:44:00,000 --> 00:44:03,839 Speaker 1: it called the the Islands of Batavia. Oh yeah, And 813 00:44:03,920 --> 00:44:07,200 Speaker 1: so he imagines all of these crazy different bats, bats 814 00:44:07,239 --> 00:44:09,640 Speaker 1: that live exclusively on the ground, bats that live in 815 00:44:09,640 --> 00:44:12,160 Speaker 1: the trees more like you know, sort of like getting 816 00:44:12,200 --> 00:44:15,520 Speaker 1: back to their roots, and including an extra large night 817 00:44:15,600 --> 00:44:20,920 Speaker 1: stalker bat called the man Ambulus para horridas and uh, 818 00:44:21,040 --> 00:44:23,360 Speaker 1: it's about in his imagining, it's about a one and 819 00:44:23,360 --> 00:44:26,719 Speaker 1: a half meters tall in Rome screeching and screaming through 820 00:44:26,880 --> 00:44:31,120 Speaker 1: the Batavian forest at night impacts. Um. There are also 821 00:44:31,520 --> 00:44:34,680 Speaker 1: other illustrations of their animals, right, Like I recall seeing 822 00:44:34,719 --> 00:44:37,759 Speaker 1: a bird that was mimicking a flower and it was 823 00:44:38,040 --> 00:44:40,759 Speaker 1: beautifully illustrated, and it's it's got its mouth open and 824 00:44:40,800 --> 00:44:43,399 Speaker 1: the tongue looks like a steam in and of course 825 00:44:43,400 --> 00:44:46,319 Speaker 1: it's attracting bats. But yeah, it's crazy stuff. It's it's 826 00:44:46,400 --> 00:44:48,840 Speaker 1: as imaginative as anything you'll see and like, uh, like 827 00:44:48,920 --> 00:44:52,600 Speaker 1: Avatar or what have you. And then also check out 828 00:44:52,600 --> 00:44:55,000 Speaker 1: a blog post that I did a few weeks back 829 00:44:55,080 --> 00:44:57,000 Speaker 1: and I'll link to it again in the in the 830 00:44:57,040 --> 00:45:00,560 Speaker 1: blog posted the companies this episode, but was called Jim 831 00:45:00,640 --> 00:45:04,279 Speaker 1: Trainers Animated Worlds of Bats, world of Bats and Dinosaurs. 832 00:45:04,640 --> 00:45:08,200 Speaker 1: Jim Trainers a Chicago based illustrator, illustrator and animator who 833 00:45:08,239 --> 00:45:11,319 Speaker 1: did a short film called the Bats. Uh. And it's 834 00:45:11,360 --> 00:45:14,000 Speaker 1: it's really it's it's really cute, but in a way 835 00:45:14,040 --> 00:45:17,480 Speaker 1: that keeps an eye on what animals really are, which 836 00:45:17,560 --> 00:45:22,600 Speaker 1: I find really and really cool and really uh enlightening. UH. 837 00:45:22,840 --> 00:45:25,480 Speaker 1: For instance, there's a scene, my favorite quote from it 838 00:45:25,520 --> 00:45:28,000 Speaker 1: the bats and narrating and the bats talking about its 839 00:45:28,040 --> 00:45:31,080 Speaker 1: life in the cave and uh, and the bat says, 840 00:45:31,120 --> 00:45:34,160 Speaker 1: one morning, I echoed an enormous worm. I cried because 841 00:45:34,200 --> 00:45:36,720 Speaker 1: I could not eat him all at once. God appeared 842 00:45:36,719 --> 00:45:39,040 Speaker 1: to me and she said, sometimes you have to kill 843 00:45:39,080 --> 00:45:41,520 Speaker 1: more than you can eat, which I love because we're 844 00:45:42,160 --> 00:45:47,080 Speaker 1: because trainer is h He's he's anthemomorphizing the bat to 845 00:45:47,160 --> 00:45:49,960 Speaker 1: an extent, but he's also keeping an eye on all 846 00:45:50,040 --> 00:45:53,320 Speaker 1: the the animal qualities that that make up this creature 847 00:45:53,360 --> 00:45:56,640 Speaker 1: and make it so unique and so perplexing and ultimately 848 00:45:56,719 --> 00:46:01,239 Speaker 1: so alien to USDN. That was just lovely. Yeah, So 849 00:46:01,640 --> 00:46:03,440 Speaker 1: if you have some tidbits on bats, you would like 850 00:46:03,480 --> 00:46:06,480 Speaker 1: to share with us your encounters with bats, be they frightening, 851 00:46:06,719 --> 00:46:10,040 Speaker 1: be they inspiring, share them with us. We would love 852 00:46:10,080 --> 00:46:13,560 Speaker 1: to hear about it. You can find us on Facebook 853 00:46:13,800 --> 00:46:16,080 Speaker 1: and tumbler. We are stuff to blow your mind on 854 00:46:16,200 --> 00:46:18,520 Speaker 1: both of those and on Twitter we go by the 855 00:46:18,520 --> 00:46:21,279 Speaker 1: handle blow the Mind, and you can also drop us 856 00:46:21,280 --> 00:46:30,319 Speaker 1: a line at blow the Mind at Discovery dot com 857 00:46:30,320 --> 00:46:32,759 Speaker 1: for more on this and thousands of other topics. Is 858 00:46:32,800 --> 00:46:38,680 Speaker 1: It how stuff works dot com,