1 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:10,200 Speaker 1: Welcome to Creature feature production of I Heart Radio. I'm 2 00:00:10,200 --> 00:00:14,200 Speaker 1: your host of Many Parasites, Katie Golden. I studied psychology 3 00:00:14,240 --> 00:00:18,200 Speaker 1: and evolutionary biology, and today We've got a very special 4 00:00:18,239 --> 00:00:20,760 Speaker 1: show for you because I've got a real life bat 5 00:00:20,920 --> 00:00:24,279 Speaker 1: expert that is a human expert on bats and not 6 00:00:24,440 --> 00:00:27,560 Speaker 1: a bat, who's an expert to talk about some wonderful 7 00:00:27,640 --> 00:00:32,839 Speaker 1: bat news. The Hill's Horseshoe bat Rhino Loafus hill I 8 00:00:33,479 --> 00:00:37,360 Speaker 1: has been feared extinct as neither hair nor wing has 9 00:00:37,400 --> 00:00:41,479 Speaker 1: been seen for forty years. They exist only in Rwanda 10 00:00:41,920 --> 00:00:45,800 Speaker 1: and were critically endangered, so their disappearing act was of 11 00:00:45,920 --> 00:00:50,959 Speaker 1: great concern. But after a five year period of survey efforts, 12 00:00:51,280 --> 00:00:56,360 Speaker 1: in twenty nineteen, Bat Conservation International and the Rwanda Wildlife 13 00:00:56,360 --> 00:01:02,200 Speaker 1: Conservation Association spotted a bat with an incredibly strange looking face, 14 00:01:02,760 --> 00:01:07,360 Speaker 1: one suspiciously like the disappeared Hills's Horseshoe bat, and after 15 00:01:07,440 --> 00:01:11,720 Speaker 1: comparing it to museum samples, it was confirmed the bat 16 00:01:11,800 --> 00:01:15,280 Speaker 1: that was feared gone forever is still out there. So 17 00:01:15,400 --> 00:01:19,240 Speaker 1: joining me today to discuss this discovery, to talk about 18 00:01:19,360 --> 00:01:22,280 Speaker 1: who is this little bat and why it's so important, 19 00:01:22,600 --> 00:01:25,840 Speaker 1: and to answer some of your questions about bats. Is 20 00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:32,280 Speaker 1: Dr Winifred Frick, chief scientist of Bat Conservation International. Welcome, 21 00:01:32,360 --> 00:01:35,839 Speaker 1: Dr Frick, thank you so much for joining me. Oh 22 00:01:35,880 --> 00:01:38,600 Speaker 1: my pleasure. I'm delighted to be here. So I am 23 00:01:38,640 --> 00:01:41,480 Speaker 1: so excited. This is such wonderful news. We seem to 24 00:01:41,600 --> 00:01:45,120 Speaker 1: hear all the time about animals who are endangered or 25 00:01:45,200 --> 00:01:48,120 Speaker 1: going extinct, and it's so lovely to hear about an 26 00:01:48,120 --> 00:01:53,920 Speaker 1: animal that has been rediscovered. Absolutely, and it was so 27 00:01:54,120 --> 00:01:57,520 Speaker 1: incredible to be part of that rediscovery for for exactly 28 00:01:57,520 --> 00:02:00,680 Speaker 1: that reason, to know that the species is still on 29 00:02:00,720 --> 00:02:03,800 Speaker 1: the planet, living out its best life in the forests 30 00:02:03,800 --> 00:02:10,040 Speaker 1: of Rwanda. It's best weird faced life. So yeah, let's 31 00:02:10,080 --> 00:02:13,440 Speaker 1: get to know the subject of the discovery. The hills 32 00:02:13,600 --> 00:02:17,440 Speaker 1: is horseshoe bats. So the hills is horseshoe bat. Like 33 00:02:17,639 --> 00:02:22,680 Speaker 1: many horseshoe bats, is really striking looking. Its face looks 34 00:02:22,840 --> 00:02:27,280 Speaker 1: kind of like an mc escher painting or like an orchid. 35 00:02:27,919 --> 00:02:31,280 Speaker 1: Why why does it look like it has a furry 36 00:02:31,400 --> 00:02:33,880 Speaker 1: orchid face? And can you give a little bit of 37 00:02:33,880 --> 00:02:38,480 Speaker 1: a physical description of this bat? Sure, the horseshoe bats 38 00:02:38,520 --> 00:02:42,760 Speaker 1: have this unusual flap of skin on their faces. It's 39 00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:47,079 Speaker 1: really evolution of their their nose and so they and 40 00:02:47,120 --> 00:02:50,600 Speaker 1: they have different sort of complicated sort of folds and wrinkles, 41 00:02:50,720 --> 00:02:53,000 Speaker 1: and so one of the ways that you identify different 42 00:02:53,160 --> 00:02:56,000 Speaker 1: horseshoe bats is by looking at the sort of the 43 00:02:56,080 --> 00:02:58,920 Speaker 1: shape and size of some of these different sort of 44 00:02:58,960 --> 00:03:03,079 Speaker 1: folds and flaps. So all horseshoe bats have a unique face. 45 00:03:03,400 --> 00:03:06,079 Speaker 1: And Hill's horseshoe bat, some of those facial features are 46 00:03:06,080 --> 00:03:13,040 Speaker 1: really exaggerated, and so they're just I described it as comical. Um, 47 00:03:13,240 --> 00:03:16,480 Speaker 1: they really do, um look pretty funny, but it's it's 48 00:03:16,520 --> 00:03:20,799 Speaker 1: all part of their ability to use echolocation for um, 49 00:03:20,800 --> 00:03:24,320 Speaker 1: looking for insects out of the night sky. That's really interesting. 50 00:03:24,360 --> 00:03:29,680 Speaker 1: So how do those folds help enhance their echolocation? Well, 51 00:03:29,800 --> 00:03:33,239 Speaker 1: you know, they're using sound at night, so they're emitting 52 00:03:33,320 --> 00:03:36,920 Speaker 1: high frequency sounds and and so they are and then 53 00:03:37,120 --> 00:03:40,440 Speaker 1: listening for the echoes back. And horseshoe bats are what 54 00:03:40,480 --> 00:03:44,280 Speaker 1: we call a constant frequency bats, so they're putting out 55 00:03:44,280 --> 00:03:48,240 Speaker 1: a single pulse at a at a constant frequency and 56 00:03:48,280 --> 00:03:50,800 Speaker 1: then listening for the echoes and actually use Doppler shift 57 00:03:50,920 --> 00:03:54,000 Speaker 1: to be able to do that. And so yeah, I 58 00:03:54,040 --> 00:03:58,360 Speaker 1: can't really say exactly how all of the different integral 59 00:03:58,440 --> 00:04:01,440 Speaker 1: features of their faces help them do that, because I 60 00:04:01,560 --> 00:04:06,200 Speaker 1: personally have a hard time imagining what the sensory world 61 00:04:06,200 --> 00:04:08,680 Speaker 1: of a bat would really be like using sound to 62 00:04:08,720 --> 00:04:12,200 Speaker 1: perceive its environment. But I imagine that they have a 63 00:04:12,320 --> 00:04:16,039 Speaker 1: very rich ability to uh to perceive their environment that 64 00:04:16,240 --> 00:04:18,440 Speaker 1: is quite different than ours. And you know, there's this 65 00:04:18,480 --> 00:04:21,800 Speaker 1: whole myth about that's being blind and um, far from it, 66 00:04:21,839 --> 00:04:25,240 Speaker 1: that's actually can see fairly fairly well as well. But 67 00:04:25,279 --> 00:04:30,560 Speaker 1: then they have this whole other amazing sensory adaptation using sound. 68 00:04:30,760 --> 00:04:34,360 Speaker 1: So it's you know, no no surprise that their their 69 00:04:34,360 --> 00:04:37,080 Speaker 1: faces and their features would look different and be highly 70 00:04:37,480 --> 00:04:41,280 Speaker 1: specialized for the way that they're experiencing their environment. That's 71 00:04:41,360 --> 00:04:45,479 Speaker 1: so interesting to me that they, yeah, that they perceive 72 00:04:45,600 --> 00:04:49,360 Speaker 1: the world not just visually but through sound, and somehow 73 00:04:49,880 --> 00:04:54,360 Speaker 1: inside their brain they are creating a map of their 74 00:04:54,440 --> 00:04:59,360 Speaker 1: surroundings with the sound. It's it's so hard to think 75 00:04:59,400 --> 00:05:01,640 Speaker 1: about what it would be like. They have these you know, 76 00:05:01,720 --> 00:05:04,400 Speaker 1: large ears that are like really sensitive to be able 77 00:05:04,440 --> 00:05:08,040 Speaker 1: to you know, hear the echoes back, and if you 78 00:05:08,080 --> 00:05:11,839 Speaker 1: think about the fact that they're emitting really loud pulses 79 00:05:11,839 --> 00:05:14,320 Speaker 1: of sounds so that they could bounce back and then 80 00:05:14,839 --> 00:05:18,960 Speaker 1: determine where um the objects are that the sounds bouncing 81 00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:21,920 Speaker 1: back from. They have really sensitive hearing, and yet they're 82 00:05:21,920 --> 00:05:24,840 Speaker 1: emitting really loud sounds too, so they also have some 83 00:05:24,880 --> 00:05:28,200 Speaker 1: really neat adaptations. This is bats echolocating bats in general, 84 00:05:28,240 --> 00:05:32,200 Speaker 1: not just tells horseshoe bat, of having really rapid acting 85 00:05:32,320 --> 00:05:35,960 Speaker 1: muscles in their earbones that can dislocate at the moment 86 00:05:36,000 --> 00:05:39,320 Speaker 1: that they emit sound and then instantly come back um 87 00:05:39,360 --> 00:05:41,520 Speaker 1: in place so that they can listen for that. So 88 00:05:41,560 --> 00:05:45,400 Speaker 1: there's just so much that's special about the anatomy and 89 00:05:45,440 --> 00:05:48,440 Speaker 1: morphology of these animals that is so cool. So they 90 00:05:48,440 --> 00:05:51,680 Speaker 1: can mute their ears so they don't have to listen 91 00:05:51,880 --> 00:05:54,080 Speaker 1: to their own sound as they're emitting it, but then 92 00:05:54,080 --> 00:05:57,440 Speaker 1: turn it back on when they need to perceive that sounds. 93 00:05:57,520 --> 00:06:02,200 Speaker 1: I wish I had that skill because as as a podcasters, 94 00:06:02,240 --> 00:06:04,480 Speaker 1: someone who has to edit my audio and listen to 95 00:06:04,520 --> 00:06:10,839 Speaker 1: my own voice, it's it's torture. So I yeah, yeah, 96 00:06:10,920 --> 00:06:13,840 Speaker 1: I've read it conscribed as the fastest acting mammalian muscle, 97 00:06:13,960 --> 00:06:17,120 Speaker 1: So remember where I read that. But that's one of 98 00:06:17,160 --> 00:06:20,159 Speaker 1: my one of my favorite go to guiz facts. About bats. 99 00:06:20,279 --> 00:06:23,800 Speaker 1: That's incredible. I didn't know that and that is really fascinating. 100 00:06:24,480 --> 00:06:29,120 Speaker 1: Speaking of that bat sound, your team also captured the 101 00:06:29,400 --> 00:06:34,280 Speaker 1: first recording of the Hills Horseshoe bat and so I'm 102 00:06:34,320 --> 00:06:46,359 Speaker 1: gonna play that right now. So it sounds to me 103 00:06:46,400 --> 00:06:50,000 Speaker 1: it sounds like someone playing like a penny whistle. It's 104 00:06:50,040 --> 00:06:52,480 Speaker 1: a it's a very it's a very sweet sound, very 105 00:06:52,520 --> 00:06:55,360 Speaker 1: cute sound. Well, and I should clarify too, So that's 106 00:06:55,360 --> 00:07:00,599 Speaker 1: their echolocation polls, but slowed way down interesting for hear it. 107 00:07:01,200 --> 00:07:05,359 Speaker 1: So when the bat is out foraging in the forest, um, 108 00:07:05,520 --> 00:07:09,800 Speaker 1: it's it's echocating around thirty killer hurt, so well above 109 00:07:09,880 --> 00:07:13,080 Speaker 1: the normal range of human hearing um, so we wouldn't 110 00:07:13,080 --> 00:07:14,480 Speaker 1: be able to hear it at all. It'd be totally 111 00:07:14,480 --> 00:07:18,040 Speaker 1: silent to us. And then interestingly, when my colleague Dr 112 00:07:18,120 --> 00:07:21,200 Speaker 1: John Flanders first slowed it down to play the clip, 113 00:07:21,440 --> 00:07:24,200 Speaker 1: he sent it to me all excited and I couldn't 114 00:07:24,240 --> 00:07:26,360 Speaker 1: hear it, and I said, there's a problem with the file, 115 00:07:27,160 --> 00:07:29,680 Speaker 1: And it turns out that he just hadn't slowed it 116 00:07:29,720 --> 00:07:34,160 Speaker 1: down enough for my ears right. Actually, hear much above 117 00:07:34,320 --> 00:07:36,120 Speaker 1: ten killer hurts, where some people can hear up as 118 00:07:36,200 --> 00:07:39,720 Speaker 1: high as fifteen and or even twenty, and so he 119 00:07:39,840 --> 00:07:42,080 Speaker 1: just slowed down even further so that that I'd be 120 00:07:42,080 --> 00:07:44,480 Speaker 1: able to hear it. Yeah, there are certain frequencies that 121 00:07:44,560 --> 00:07:48,640 Speaker 1: only younger ears can hear. So if you're if you're 122 00:07:48,680 --> 00:07:51,800 Speaker 1: like a kid and you want to, uh pull a 123 00:07:51,840 --> 00:07:54,240 Speaker 1: prank on your parents, sometimes you can play a sound 124 00:07:54,280 --> 00:07:57,880 Speaker 1: that kids can hear and adults can't hear. I've probably 125 00:07:57,920 --> 00:08:00,640 Speaker 1: been to too many concerts to be able to here 126 00:08:00,680 --> 00:08:03,840 Speaker 1: that that bat sound as well. So but yeah, so 127 00:08:03,920 --> 00:08:08,280 Speaker 1: that is that's really interesting. So what do we really 128 00:08:08,400 --> 00:08:13,600 Speaker 1: know about the Hills horseshoe bats behavior because we haven't 129 00:08:13,680 --> 00:08:18,040 Speaker 1: seen them in forty years? Are they pretty reclusive and 130 00:08:18,080 --> 00:08:20,560 Speaker 1: hard to know much about or have we learned anything 131 00:08:20,600 --> 00:08:24,120 Speaker 1: about them? Yeah, well there's still lots to learn what 132 00:08:24,200 --> 00:08:28,000 Speaker 1: we know. So there's only been two individuals prior to 133 00:08:28,200 --> 00:08:34,000 Speaker 1: our expedition in January. There's only ever been two individuals described, 134 00:08:34,080 --> 00:08:38,679 Speaker 1: one in nineteen sixty four and another one and um. 135 00:08:38,679 --> 00:08:43,120 Speaker 1: Both of those individuals were observed in the Uinka region 136 00:08:43,280 --> 00:08:46,840 Speaker 1: of Nyangue National Park, which is in southwestern Rwanda and 137 00:08:46,920 --> 00:08:51,000 Speaker 1: only eight kilometers apart. And and that's exactly the same 138 00:08:51,080 --> 00:08:54,760 Speaker 1: spot where we found actually captured two individuals on that trip. 139 00:08:55,400 --> 00:08:58,760 Speaker 1: So from best we can tell, this is a very 140 00:08:58,880 --> 00:09:03,760 Speaker 1: rare um ecs with a very small geographic range that's 141 00:09:03,840 --> 00:09:08,240 Speaker 1: in the very heart of Niangua National Park, basically essentially 142 00:09:08,240 --> 00:09:13,240 Speaker 1: in one watershed, and so whether they had a larger 143 00:09:13,840 --> 00:09:19,280 Speaker 1: range historically, you know, unfortunately Rwanda has experienced a high 144 00:09:19,400 --> 00:09:23,520 Speaker 1: rate of deforestation, especially in the nineteen eighties and nineteen nineties. 145 00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:28,960 Speaker 1: Nianguai National Park now is protected by Rwanda and is 146 00:09:29,000 --> 00:09:32,240 Speaker 1: really one of the sort of crown jewels of conservation 147 00:09:32,360 --> 00:09:35,720 Speaker 1: and in protection in Rwanda, which takes its conservation and 148 00:09:35,760 --> 00:09:40,760 Speaker 1: its wildlife species protections very seriously. But you know, it 149 00:09:40,800 --> 00:09:43,040 Speaker 1: seems like this, I mean, this is a Rwanda is 150 00:09:43,080 --> 00:09:45,320 Speaker 1: called the Land of a Thousand Hills and it's in 151 00:09:45,320 --> 00:09:48,920 Speaker 1: this Albertine Rift area of central Africa. So the forest 152 00:09:49,400 --> 00:09:52,960 Speaker 1: there is really old, meaning that this part of the 153 00:09:53,000 --> 00:09:56,120 Speaker 1: planet has had this kind of forest for a very 154 00:09:56,200 --> 00:10:00,000 Speaker 1: long time, like it didn't experience a change in habitat 155 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:03,640 Speaker 1: at during glacial periods and things. And so what you 156 00:10:03,880 --> 00:10:06,960 Speaker 1: find in those kinds of situations is really high rates 157 00:10:06,960 --> 00:10:10,280 Speaker 1: of biodiversity and high rates of endemism because the habitat 158 00:10:10,280 --> 00:10:13,560 Speaker 1: has been there a long time. So what we think 159 00:10:13,640 --> 00:10:17,679 Speaker 1: is that this species probably has naturally had a small range. 160 00:10:17,760 --> 00:10:19,679 Speaker 1: Maybe it was large at one point, but it's lost 161 00:10:19,720 --> 00:10:22,560 Speaker 1: part of that range due to deforestation. And so there's 162 00:10:22,559 --> 00:10:25,800 Speaker 1: a small population hanging on in the heart of this 163 00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:32,080 Speaker 1: really beautiful and protected afromontane rainforest in Rwanda. And so 164 00:10:32,120 --> 00:10:35,040 Speaker 1: when you say that animals have a high rate of 165 00:10:35,160 --> 00:10:38,040 Speaker 1: endemism in these forests, that means they are only found 166 00:10:38,360 --> 00:10:42,120 Speaker 1: in these really old forests. Why why is it that, 167 00:10:42,200 --> 00:10:45,520 Speaker 1: like when you have a really old region that you 168 00:10:45,559 --> 00:10:48,559 Speaker 1: tend to find animals who are exclusive to that region 169 00:10:48,640 --> 00:10:52,839 Speaker 1: and found nowhere else. Yeah, well so we so it's 170 00:10:52,880 --> 00:10:55,920 Speaker 1: kind of a combination. In that area, you have high 171 00:10:55,920 --> 00:11:00,280 Speaker 1: biodiversity beca the Alberteen Rift because the forest is really old, 172 00:11:00,520 --> 00:11:04,560 Speaker 1: but it's also a very very mountainous landscape, and so 173 00:11:04,600 --> 00:11:07,040 Speaker 1: you've got lots of features that could end up sort 174 00:11:07,080 --> 00:11:10,000 Speaker 1: of allowing species to sort of separate and Specie eight 175 00:11:10,000 --> 00:11:12,720 Speaker 1: and so you end up with and then that's surrounded 176 00:11:12,720 --> 00:11:17,800 Speaker 1: by habitats that maybe are different. So throughout Africa and 177 00:11:18,240 --> 00:11:20,640 Speaker 1: other areas, you know, you we get what we call 178 00:11:20,679 --> 00:11:23,320 Speaker 1: like sky islands, where you get these mountain habitats that 179 00:11:23,360 --> 00:11:26,520 Speaker 1: are surrounded by a sea of lowland, and that is 180 00:11:26,559 --> 00:11:30,440 Speaker 1: also lends itself to endemism, meaning that species occur there 181 00:11:30,440 --> 00:11:33,640 Speaker 1: and nowhere else. So on another project, we're working on 182 00:11:34,160 --> 00:11:37,040 Speaker 1: the critically endangered LaMotte's round leaf fat which is in 183 00:11:37,080 --> 00:11:40,240 Speaker 1: the Nimba Mountains in West Africa, and it only occurs 184 00:11:40,240 --> 00:11:43,240 Speaker 1: in that mountain range because that mountain range is isolated 185 00:11:43,240 --> 00:11:46,559 Speaker 1: and surrounded by a sea of lowland. That's so incredible. 186 00:11:46,559 --> 00:11:49,839 Speaker 1: I mean, it's it's both really interesting and a little 187 00:11:49,840 --> 00:11:53,679 Speaker 1: bit frightening to me, this idea that we have species 188 00:11:53,720 --> 00:11:56,880 Speaker 1: that are very specialized found in a very tiny range, 189 00:11:57,640 --> 00:12:01,200 Speaker 1: and we could lose them if we lose these habitats, 190 00:12:01,200 --> 00:12:05,040 Speaker 1: like if this, if this tiny area where this hills 191 00:12:05,080 --> 00:12:09,079 Speaker 1: his horseshoe bat is ever threatened, we would lose not 192 00:12:09,200 --> 00:12:12,400 Speaker 1: just this bat, but many other species that are probably 193 00:12:12,600 --> 00:12:17,760 Speaker 1: very highly specialized to this one little region. That's right, 194 00:12:17,760 --> 00:12:20,280 Speaker 1: and that's why it's so incredible the commitment that we 195 00:12:20,360 --> 00:12:23,760 Speaker 1: see from Rwanda and the Rwanda Development Board to protect 196 00:12:23,800 --> 00:12:27,760 Speaker 1: the remaining forests that's there. I mean, Younga National Park 197 00:12:28,200 --> 00:12:32,360 Speaker 1: is the largest intact tract of Afromontine rainforest left in 198 00:12:32,400 --> 00:12:36,640 Speaker 1: central Africa. It's over a thousand kilometers is protected. When 199 00:12:36,679 --> 00:12:39,920 Speaker 1: you drive from Keigali, which is the capital city of Rwanda, 200 00:12:40,280 --> 00:12:42,320 Speaker 1: down to the Young Boy which is in the southwestern 201 00:12:42,360 --> 00:12:44,760 Speaker 1: corner of the country. It's a small country, but it 202 00:12:44,800 --> 00:12:47,080 Speaker 1: takes a while to get there, and it's really mountainous, 203 00:12:47,080 --> 00:12:51,000 Speaker 1: and so the whole drive, um, it's incredible to see 204 00:12:51,360 --> 00:12:55,520 Speaker 1: the mountainous landscape, and most of that is you know, 205 00:12:55,600 --> 00:12:58,960 Speaker 1: covered in in agriculture and in different kinds of crops, 206 00:12:58,960 --> 00:13:01,640 Speaker 1: even up these steep hills sites, it's really incredible. And 207 00:13:01,679 --> 00:13:04,560 Speaker 1: it is until you get to the border of Young 208 00:13:04,640 --> 00:13:06,880 Speaker 1: Way that you get to this point where you can 209 00:13:06,920 --> 00:13:11,240 Speaker 1: look out over the hills and see the landscape draped 210 00:13:11,280 --> 00:13:14,880 Speaker 1: in this Aframontine forest, and it's almost like that you 211 00:13:14,880 --> 00:13:18,200 Speaker 1: can just feel the kind of the mountain sort of breathe. 212 00:13:18,559 --> 00:13:23,560 Speaker 1: And so it's an incredibly valuable important area to protect 213 00:13:23,600 --> 00:13:26,120 Speaker 1: and and and and yet you know, we don't know 214 00:13:26,240 --> 00:13:29,600 Speaker 1: necessarily if other species in some of the other areas 215 00:13:30,080 --> 00:13:32,720 Speaker 1: we might have already lost them, for instance, you know, 216 00:13:33,160 --> 00:13:34,839 Speaker 1: and I want to you know, I mean, this is 217 00:13:34,880 --> 00:13:37,400 Speaker 1: a problem the world over that so much of our 218 00:13:37,679 --> 00:13:41,200 Speaker 1: landscape has been converted to agriculture to grow crops and 219 00:13:41,240 --> 00:13:43,920 Speaker 1: feed people, and of course that's super important, but we 220 00:13:44,320 --> 00:13:46,480 Speaker 1: obviously need to find ways to also be able to 221 00:13:46,520 --> 00:13:49,440 Speaker 1: do that and support biodiversity right right, And in the 222 00:13:49,520 --> 00:13:53,760 Speaker 1: problem with monocultures, even if they are efficient in terms 223 00:13:53,760 --> 00:13:56,640 Speaker 1: of feeding people, is that when you only have one 224 00:13:56,800 --> 00:13:59,240 Speaker 1: kind of plant, one kind of crop, that's really not 225 00:13:59,440 --> 00:14:04,680 Speaker 1: conduced of to supporting wildlife that may be specialized in 226 00:14:04,960 --> 00:14:07,560 Speaker 1: feeding on a different kind of vegetation or need some 227 00:14:07,679 --> 00:14:10,720 Speaker 1: variety in their diet. Yeah. And then in the in 228 00:14:10,800 --> 00:14:14,760 Speaker 1: the um Younger National Park has you know, many other 229 00:14:15,120 --> 00:14:17,800 Speaker 1: different species as well. I think it's got the record 230 00:14:17,840 --> 00:14:21,200 Speaker 1: for the most primate species in Rwanda. Of course, Rwanda 231 00:14:21,280 --> 00:14:25,000 Speaker 1: is famous for their amazing conservation of the guerrillas and 232 00:14:25,000 --> 00:14:27,760 Speaker 1: those are up in Volcanoes National Parks. And the Young 233 00:14:27,800 --> 00:14:30,480 Speaker 1: Bay doesn't have grillas, but it does have chimpanzees. And 234 00:14:30,520 --> 00:14:32,960 Speaker 1: I think there's thirteen different species of primates in the 235 00:14:32,960 --> 00:14:36,640 Speaker 1: park too, So lots of um different animals called Youngwa 236 00:14:36,800 --> 00:14:40,560 Speaker 1: home and and and this bat has a small population there. 237 00:14:40,920 --> 00:14:45,000 Speaker 1: And you know, we we initially thought that there was 238 00:14:45,040 --> 00:14:47,360 Speaker 1: a good chance that was roosting in caves because lots 239 00:14:47,360 --> 00:14:51,000 Speaker 1: of different rhino Loofu species living caves um and so 240 00:14:51,040 --> 00:14:54,080 Speaker 1: we were working with the Young Way Park rangers to 241 00:14:54,680 --> 00:14:57,240 Speaker 1: identify the different caves that might be in the park, 242 00:14:57,320 --> 00:15:00,240 Speaker 1: and they did and some incredible work before where we 243 00:15:00,280 --> 00:15:03,960 Speaker 1: got there too, on all of their patrols documenting the 244 00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:06,440 Speaker 1: location of different caves and whether they've seen any sign 245 00:15:06,480 --> 00:15:09,160 Speaker 1: of bats there. And so a big part of our 246 00:15:09,160 --> 00:15:12,280 Speaker 1: effort while we were there was actually serving some of 247 00:15:12,280 --> 00:15:16,080 Speaker 1: those caves um and we we found evidence of other 248 00:15:16,200 --> 00:15:20,480 Speaker 1: species and there other bats, but not hill sworshoe bat, 249 00:15:20,520 --> 00:15:23,640 Speaker 1: and as best we can tell now, um, it seems 250 00:15:23,640 --> 00:15:27,760 Speaker 1: like it's probably a tree roosting bats. So that speaks 251 00:15:27,800 --> 00:15:30,160 Speaker 1: even more to the importance of the forest. Well even 252 00:15:30,240 --> 00:15:32,360 Speaker 1: even bats that recent caves need for us because they 253 00:15:32,360 --> 00:15:35,880 Speaker 1: need places to forage. I mean it is It is 254 00:15:35,920 --> 00:15:39,080 Speaker 1: interesting because I think people do have this concept that 255 00:15:39,480 --> 00:15:43,760 Speaker 1: all bats live in caves are cave cave dollars, and 256 00:15:43,840 --> 00:15:45,720 Speaker 1: indeed there are a lot of species of bats that 257 00:15:45,840 --> 00:15:48,480 Speaker 1: do live in caves, but there are a lot of 258 00:15:48,600 --> 00:15:52,840 Speaker 1: arboreal bats, uh, And just like an incredible diversity of 259 00:15:52,880 --> 00:15:56,280 Speaker 1: bats that all have sort of their own ecological niche 260 00:15:56,320 --> 00:16:02,720 Speaker 1: that they inhabit that's right, about forty of bat species 261 00:16:03,120 --> 00:16:07,760 Speaker 1: roosting caves, but trees are probably the most important resource 262 00:16:07,880 --> 00:16:10,520 Speaker 1: for bats around the world. And we should remember too. 263 00:16:10,600 --> 00:16:14,760 Speaker 1: You know, there's um over four different species of bats 264 00:16:14,880 --> 00:16:17,360 Speaker 1: uh on planet Earth Earth, and so when we talk 265 00:16:17,440 --> 00:16:20,760 Speaker 1: about bats sometimes people forget that there's just so much 266 00:16:20,800 --> 00:16:23,600 Speaker 1: diversity and there's lots of different ways of making a 267 00:16:23,680 --> 00:16:25,760 Speaker 1: bat living out there. Yeah, it's one of the most 268 00:16:25,800 --> 00:16:29,880 Speaker 1: diverse groups of of mammals that I know, I know of. 269 00:16:29,960 --> 00:16:34,920 Speaker 1: It's it's just in terms of their morphology and how 270 00:16:35,040 --> 00:16:39,359 Speaker 1: many different kinds of like there are insectivores, their frugivores 271 00:16:39,960 --> 00:16:43,640 Speaker 1: nick dearivor is just it seems like every sort of 272 00:16:44,040 --> 00:16:48,840 Speaker 1: little area where they could specialize in they will do that. Yeah. 273 00:16:48,880 --> 00:16:51,520 Speaker 1: I mean flight does amazing things for giving you the 274 00:16:51,600 --> 00:16:54,680 Speaker 1: chance to being able to get around the planet and 275 00:16:54,720 --> 00:16:59,000 Speaker 1: also specialized into different niches. Um. Yeah, the only they're 276 00:16:59,040 --> 00:17:02,240 Speaker 1: the second most of verse group of mammals. So rodents 277 00:17:02,520 --> 00:17:05,720 Speaker 1: have the most species and then bats are are in 278 00:17:05,800 --> 00:17:08,280 Speaker 1: second place in terms of number of species on the planet. 279 00:17:08,400 --> 00:17:11,520 Speaker 1: That's really amazing. So, I mean you don't have to 280 00:17:11,560 --> 00:17:15,760 Speaker 1: convince me or probably my listeners because I love bats. 281 00:17:15,840 --> 00:17:18,879 Speaker 1: My listeners love bats. This is basically, even though we 282 00:17:18,920 --> 00:17:21,280 Speaker 1: talk about all sorts of animals, this is a bat 283 00:17:21,320 --> 00:17:25,760 Speaker 1: fan club here. But why is it so important to 284 00:17:25,840 --> 00:17:30,680 Speaker 1: keep track of these rare species of bats and maintain 285 00:17:30,720 --> 00:17:34,240 Speaker 1: their populations? Because because there are so many different species 286 00:17:34,280 --> 00:17:38,080 Speaker 1: of bats, what do we lose when a particular species 287 00:17:38,320 --> 00:17:42,280 Speaker 1: is endangered or goes extinct. The loss of a species 288 00:17:42,680 --> 00:17:47,080 Speaker 1: is in some ways just existential in terms of UM 289 00:17:47,119 --> 00:17:50,080 Speaker 1: what it means. I mean, we know that we share 290 00:17:50,440 --> 00:17:56,360 Speaker 1: the planet with other other organisms, and that UM, biodiversity 291 00:17:56,480 --> 00:18:02,000 Speaker 1: writ large is incredibly important. UM. I think that over 292 00:18:02,080 --> 00:18:05,160 Speaker 1: and over again we've been able to quantify and document 293 00:18:05,240 --> 00:18:10,480 Speaker 1: the value of biodiversity to humans. UM. I like to 294 00:18:10,480 --> 00:18:14,720 Speaker 1: talk about the values that beyond what what species do 295 00:18:14,840 --> 00:18:22,080 Speaker 1: for us. Right. Bats in general provide incredible ecosystem services 296 00:18:22,440 --> 00:18:27,240 Speaker 1: to humans into the planet. Right, So they're incredibly important 297 00:18:27,280 --> 00:18:33,800 Speaker 1: consumers of agricultural pests. In terms of their insectivorous bats. UM, 298 00:18:33,880 --> 00:18:39,040 Speaker 1: that's that pollinate. Uh. Nectivious bats are really important pollinators 299 00:18:39,320 --> 00:18:41,480 Speaker 1: for a variety of different plants, some of which have 300 00:18:41,560 --> 00:18:45,880 Speaker 1: commercial value to human economies, but in also are really 301 00:18:45,920 --> 00:18:50,800 Speaker 1: important for maintaining rainforests. Seat bats that eat fruit and 302 00:18:50,880 --> 00:18:53,960 Speaker 1: disperse seeds have been shown to have really important value 303 00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:58,239 Speaker 1: to rainforest regeneration. They tend to like trees that are 304 00:18:58,240 --> 00:19:01,480 Speaker 1: good pioneer species like figs, and so they fly along 305 00:19:01,520 --> 00:19:05,320 Speaker 1: distances so they can drop seeds places and um. So 306 00:19:05,560 --> 00:19:09,880 Speaker 1: there's there's a strong body of work that shows um 307 00:19:10,080 --> 00:19:13,080 Speaker 1: and puts actual dollar amounts. It's been estimated in the 308 00:19:13,160 --> 00:19:18,919 Speaker 1: United States that insectivious that's provide in the billions of 309 00:19:19,040 --> 00:19:22,520 Speaker 1: dollars to the U S agricultural industry, and researchers in 310 00:19:22,560 --> 00:19:28,239 Speaker 1: Thailand of estimated the value of common fretail bat that 311 00:19:28,320 --> 00:19:31,320 Speaker 1: lives there in terms of the amount of predation that 312 00:19:31,480 --> 00:19:35,879 Speaker 1: does on rice pest and and calculated the number of 313 00:19:35,960 --> 00:19:40,440 Speaker 1: the increased yield due to that predation of that rice 314 00:19:40,480 --> 00:19:43,439 Speaker 1: crop pest and UM. I think even put it in 315 00:19:43,560 --> 00:19:47,160 Speaker 1: terms of how many bags of rice per year um 316 00:19:47,200 --> 00:19:51,800 Speaker 1: that that provides. Oftentimes, when we talk about ecosystem services 317 00:19:51,840 --> 00:19:56,600 Speaker 1: though that that's being provided um by that's that are 318 00:19:56,680 --> 00:20:00,479 Speaker 1: highly abundant and those are super important to text. And 319 00:20:00,520 --> 00:20:05,200 Speaker 1: so your question was about the value of these rare bats. 320 00:20:05,400 --> 00:20:09,720 Speaker 1: So what is the value of this rare species that's 321 00:20:09,800 --> 00:20:14,320 Speaker 1: living in the forest of in one little area of 322 00:20:14,359 --> 00:20:21,320 Speaker 1: one forest in Rwanda. Well, i'd say that it's a 323 00:20:21,400 --> 00:20:26,280 Speaker 1: part of that forest ecosystem. It has, in my view, 324 00:20:26,320 --> 00:20:30,680 Speaker 1: a right to live there. It's certainly, as we've seen 325 00:20:30,760 --> 00:20:34,840 Speaker 1: from the interest in this rediscovery, it certainly has value 326 00:20:34,880 --> 00:20:38,880 Speaker 1: in terms of its ability to capture our attention and 327 00:20:38,920 --> 00:20:42,679 Speaker 1: fascination and and and make us take a moment and 328 00:20:43,280 --> 00:20:47,440 Speaker 1: think about who we are and what our role is 329 00:20:47,920 --> 00:20:50,520 Speaker 1: in that sense of awe and that sense of fascination 330 00:20:50,600 --> 00:20:54,879 Speaker 1: and that sense of respect. I think it's hard to quantify, 331 00:20:54,960 --> 00:21:00,640 Speaker 1: but is real. I absolutely agree, and I I think 332 00:21:00,680 --> 00:21:03,480 Speaker 1: it is. It is an important thing because I do 333 00:21:03,840 --> 00:21:08,320 Speaker 1: talk often about like the importance of animals to the 334 00:21:08,400 --> 00:21:11,600 Speaker 1: world into humans in terms of the sort of this 335 00:21:12,280 --> 00:21:16,959 Speaker 1: tapestry of interactions that helps support the planet which we 336 00:21:17,040 --> 00:21:19,840 Speaker 1: live on, so we need. But I think there is 337 00:21:19,920 --> 00:21:26,639 Speaker 1: something that is more philosophical about preserving species and making 338 00:21:26,640 --> 00:21:30,760 Speaker 1: sure they're still out there. Bear survival is great in 339 00:21:30,880 --> 00:21:33,679 Speaker 1: terms of, you know, the human experience, but we also 340 00:21:34,359 --> 00:21:37,560 Speaker 1: enjoy things like art, and even if it doesn't necessarily 341 00:21:37,600 --> 00:21:40,880 Speaker 1: like we can't quantify what exactly art does for us, 342 00:21:40,920 --> 00:21:44,360 Speaker 1: but I think It's a similar thing with with species, 343 00:21:44,440 --> 00:21:48,480 Speaker 1: Like here's something that has evolved over millions of years, 344 00:21:48,560 --> 00:21:51,400 Speaker 1: and here it is still alive, Like this live it's 345 00:21:51,400 --> 00:21:54,640 Speaker 1: it's a living, it's all. It's kind of almost goes 346 00:21:54,680 --> 00:21:57,480 Speaker 1: beyond art. I don't know how else to describe it, 347 00:21:57,560 --> 00:22:02,960 Speaker 1: but it's this this living, intricate work of natural beauty 348 00:22:02,960 --> 00:22:07,240 Speaker 1: and art, and it's I think there's something like when 349 00:22:07,240 --> 00:22:09,720 Speaker 1: you hear about one of these species, like you said, 350 00:22:09,760 --> 00:22:13,920 Speaker 1: being rediscovered, it inspires so much hope because we hear 351 00:22:14,000 --> 00:22:18,080 Speaker 1: so much about the planet dying in all of these issues, 352 00:22:18,119 --> 00:22:21,600 Speaker 1: which are very important to talk about, but I think 353 00:22:21,640 --> 00:22:25,240 Speaker 1: it is just as important to talk about the animals 354 00:22:25,280 --> 00:22:27,920 Speaker 1: that can be saved and who are still out there, 355 00:22:28,200 --> 00:22:31,320 Speaker 1: and that you know there is there is hope for 356 00:22:32,240 --> 00:22:36,280 Speaker 1: animals and for humans, because sometimes with all of the 357 00:22:36,320 --> 00:22:39,480 Speaker 1: doomsday news, I think people sometimes get this sense like 358 00:22:39,520 --> 00:22:42,880 Speaker 1: there's no point in trying anymore, everything is doomed. But 359 00:22:43,320 --> 00:22:47,000 Speaker 1: that's really not true. We have so much, so much 360 00:22:47,080 --> 00:22:53,359 Speaker 1: ability to preserve species and to learn find discover things 361 00:22:53,400 --> 00:22:56,399 Speaker 1: that we thought maybe there was no hope for, like 362 00:22:56,480 --> 00:22:59,560 Speaker 1: the fact I mean again, like that we didn't weren't 363 00:22:59,600 --> 00:23:02,760 Speaker 1: able to see these guys for forty years and your 364 00:23:02,760 --> 00:23:06,880 Speaker 1: team found them. It's it is really inspiring. I feel 365 00:23:06,960 --> 00:23:10,920 Speaker 1: that way. I mean, it's hard to describe the feeling 366 00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:15,480 Speaker 1: of of being there and and the incredible sense of 367 00:23:15,520 --> 00:23:21,480 Speaker 1: both privilege and how humble to realize that we had 368 00:23:21,520 --> 00:23:25,480 Speaker 1: the opportunity of a being able to be there and 369 00:23:25,560 --> 00:23:30,760 Speaker 1: that incredible landscape, and and have the opportunity to see 370 00:23:30,840 --> 00:23:35,840 Speaker 1: such a rare species, and and also be there with 371 00:23:35,920 --> 00:23:39,439 Speaker 1: our with our with our colleagues from Rwanda, and and 372 00:23:39,640 --> 00:23:42,560 Speaker 1: Dr Paul Labala from Kenya, and and Prince klaim A 373 00:23:42,720 --> 00:23:46,159 Speaker 1: from the Democratic Republic of Congo. And I mean, we 374 00:23:46,200 --> 00:23:51,639 Speaker 1: had this this team of of people and the sense 375 00:23:51,720 --> 00:23:57,040 Speaker 1: of excitement and connection, and so I couldn't agree more that, 376 00:23:57,320 --> 00:24:01,520 Speaker 1: you know, hope is Hope is not lost. Hope is 377 00:24:01,640 --> 00:24:04,919 Speaker 1: essential to UM to what we do UM. It is 378 00:24:04,960 --> 00:24:08,119 Speaker 1: a there is a real sort of weight to the 379 00:24:08,160 --> 00:24:11,040 Speaker 1: world right now, with climate change and the bio diversity 380 00:24:11,080 --> 00:24:15,040 Speaker 1: crisis and the strife that we're witnessing around the world. 381 00:24:15,520 --> 00:24:18,800 Speaker 1: I think that there are lots of reasons to hope, 382 00:24:18,800 --> 00:24:20,040 Speaker 1: and that one of the one of the one of 383 00:24:20,080 --> 00:24:22,560 Speaker 1: the things that I've noticed is that we can we 384 00:24:22,600 --> 00:24:26,159 Speaker 1: can get into this sort of paralysis of um a 385 00:24:26,280 --> 00:24:28,880 Speaker 1: feeling like the problems are just too big to solve. 386 00:24:29,480 --> 00:24:32,720 Speaker 1: And you know, I've tried really hard to think through 387 00:24:33,200 --> 00:24:36,760 Speaker 1: I mean, part of my job at that Conservation International 388 00:24:37,359 --> 00:24:40,639 Speaker 1: is to identify and prioritize what are the sort of 389 00:24:40,680 --> 00:24:43,840 Speaker 1: most important projects for us to be working on, and 390 00:24:43,840 --> 00:24:46,360 Speaker 1: and and and you can have this moment of paralysis 391 00:24:46,359 --> 00:24:48,159 Speaker 1: of like, well, it's all important, and where do you 392 00:24:48,240 --> 00:24:52,280 Speaker 1: start and and so you really do have to, you know, 393 00:24:52,359 --> 00:24:54,560 Speaker 1: kind of roll up your sleeves and say, I'm you know, 394 00:24:54,560 --> 00:24:57,000 Speaker 1: we're gonna go. We're gonna go. We're gonna do what 395 00:24:57,040 --> 00:24:59,440 Speaker 1: we can in the places where we've got the best 396 00:24:59,440 --> 00:25:03,440 Speaker 1: opportunity any to make a difference. And and there's lots 397 00:25:03,440 --> 00:25:07,240 Speaker 1: of tools out there for us in terms of conservation evidence, 398 00:25:07,400 --> 00:25:11,520 Speaker 1: and you know, prior to the conservation standards, and lots 399 00:25:11,600 --> 00:25:14,200 Speaker 1: of really smart people on this planet are are working, 400 00:25:14,600 --> 00:25:16,840 Speaker 1: you know, really hard to find the ways to give 401 00:25:16,920 --> 00:25:20,399 Speaker 1: us the best chance of success to do conservation. Well. 402 00:25:20,960 --> 00:25:22,080 Speaker 1: At the end of the day, you gotta get out 403 00:25:22,080 --> 00:25:24,679 Speaker 1: there and you gotta do the work, and you know, 404 00:25:24,720 --> 00:25:27,800 Speaker 1: collaborate with people and and and then when you have 405 00:25:27,920 --> 00:25:32,320 Speaker 1: those moments where that hard work pays off and you're 406 00:25:32,320 --> 00:25:35,560 Speaker 1: standing in the forest and you see a bat that 407 00:25:36,800 --> 00:25:40,040 Speaker 1: looks really weird and nobody has seen for forty years. 408 00:25:40,119 --> 00:25:43,840 Speaker 1: It is, you know, it's it's nothing short of incredible. 409 00:25:44,040 --> 00:25:45,680 Speaker 1: And then you get to let it go again and 410 00:25:47,320 --> 00:25:49,719 Speaker 1: it flies back out into the forest and it doesn't 411 00:25:49,760 --> 00:25:54,200 Speaker 1: know that it's like super rare and that nobody's seen 412 00:25:54,240 --> 00:25:58,359 Speaker 1: it for forty years. Like it's just I've been doing 413 00:25:58,359 --> 00:26:01,480 Speaker 1: its thing and it and then so there's also the 414 00:26:01,560 --> 00:26:04,520 Speaker 1: sense of the responsibility of going to make sure that 415 00:26:04,560 --> 00:26:07,160 Speaker 1: it can continue to do that, and and that it's 416 00:26:07,280 --> 00:26:10,040 Speaker 1: got that watershed and it's got that forest to keep 417 00:26:10,320 --> 00:26:13,080 Speaker 1: living out. It's it's best life. Like I said, it's 418 00:26:13,119 --> 00:26:16,800 Speaker 1: so wonderful. I will have pictures of this bat in 419 00:26:16,840 --> 00:26:19,359 Speaker 1: the show notes or you can google the Hills his 420 00:26:19,440 --> 00:26:24,119 Speaker 1: horseshoe bat. And but its face is just it's incredible, 421 00:26:24,440 --> 00:26:28,399 Speaker 1: and there's something I mean, there are there are a 422 00:26:28,440 --> 00:26:31,840 Speaker 1: lot of beautiful animals, but to have because it has 423 00:26:31,880 --> 00:26:34,840 Speaker 1: like these these folds and flaps on its face. And 424 00:26:34,920 --> 00:26:38,040 Speaker 1: I assume that the horseshoe name comes from these like 425 00:26:38,119 --> 00:26:43,440 Speaker 1: horseshoe like folds. Yeah, the horseshoe shape to its nose. Yeah, 426 00:26:43,640 --> 00:26:46,200 Speaker 1: that goes down and like it looks like a chin 427 00:26:46,400 --> 00:26:50,679 Speaker 1: almost yeah, yeah, and it's it's you just want to ask, like, 428 00:26:50,800 --> 00:26:53,480 Speaker 1: do you know you're so fascinating looking or are you 429 00:26:53,560 --> 00:26:55,840 Speaker 1: just you know, do you want do you understand how 430 00:26:56,119 --> 00:26:59,520 Speaker 1: like we're just captivated by your face and the fact 431 00:26:59,600 --> 00:27:01,879 Speaker 1: we haven't seen you in forty years And but now 432 00:27:01,960 --> 00:27:06,359 Speaker 1: it probably flies off and goes off to find another 433 00:27:06,560 --> 00:27:11,440 Speaker 1: another bug to eat. It's an insectivore, right, Yeah. Yeah, 434 00:27:11,680 --> 00:27:15,240 Speaker 1: We're gonna take a quick break, but when we return, 435 00:27:15,600 --> 00:27:18,960 Speaker 1: we are going to talk more about bats with Dr Frick. 436 00:27:19,680 --> 00:27:23,560 Speaker 1: So we're back, and I think we are. We're amongst 437 00:27:23,720 --> 00:27:26,960 Speaker 1: bat lovers right now, probably people who are listening to 438 00:27:27,000 --> 00:27:29,119 Speaker 1: the show, I would imagine our ball lovers. But a 439 00:27:29,119 --> 00:27:34,320 Speaker 1: lot of people are somewhat afraid of bats or are 440 00:27:34,480 --> 00:27:38,240 Speaker 1: worried about certain misconceptions that they like. I think a 441 00:27:38,280 --> 00:27:41,439 Speaker 1: lot of people may have the misconception that most bats 442 00:27:41,480 --> 00:27:44,560 Speaker 1: are like vampire bats, despite the fact that in fact, 443 00:27:44,640 --> 00:27:47,280 Speaker 1: those are the least common species of bats and are 444 00:27:47,400 --> 00:27:51,639 Speaker 1: vastly outnumbered by every other type of bat in the world. Um, 445 00:27:51,840 --> 00:27:54,760 Speaker 1: and they're so people think, oh, a bat is going 446 00:27:54,800 --> 00:27:57,679 Speaker 1: to try to bite me or suck my blood. Um. 447 00:27:58,240 --> 00:28:03,640 Speaker 1: But there are also fears about bats transmitting diseases like rabies. Um, 448 00:28:03,720 --> 00:28:07,040 Speaker 1: So what should people who have a fear of bats 449 00:28:07,560 --> 00:28:11,040 Speaker 1: know about them? There's really no reason to fear bats. 450 00:28:11,160 --> 00:28:16,480 Speaker 1: They're um. Most people won't have the opportunity or pleasure 451 00:28:16,480 --> 00:28:19,480 Speaker 1: to get to see bats ever, which is almost a 452 00:28:19,480 --> 00:28:23,080 Speaker 1: shame because they're incredible. If you get a chance to 453 00:28:23,280 --> 00:28:25,600 Speaker 1: ever see a bat up closed, you would quickly see 454 00:28:25,640 --> 00:28:28,320 Speaker 1: that they have You can google images on the internet, 455 00:28:28,400 --> 00:28:32,640 Speaker 1: I guess, um, and see their Their faces sometimes look 456 00:28:32,760 --> 00:28:35,679 Speaker 1: you know, unusual, like our Hill's horseshoe bat. Um. And 457 00:28:35,720 --> 00:28:40,240 Speaker 1: that's due to their interesting adaptations for their nocturnal lives. 458 00:28:40,400 --> 00:28:43,640 Speaker 1: You know. The flying foxes in particular, are are pretty 459 00:28:43,800 --> 00:28:46,800 Speaker 1: heart melting in terms of um, you know, big eyes 460 00:28:46,840 --> 00:28:49,080 Speaker 1: so they don't go locate in you know, kind of 461 00:28:49,080 --> 00:28:54,320 Speaker 1: standardly cute faces. Videos of flying foxes babies who are 462 00:28:54,320 --> 00:28:58,280 Speaker 1: in rescue eating grapes and bananas, and it's it's the 463 00:28:58,320 --> 00:29:01,280 Speaker 1: most heart melting thing you can see. Yes, I think 464 00:29:01,280 --> 00:29:06,120 Speaker 1: that some people call them sky puppies. Um, but you know, 465 00:29:06,200 --> 00:29:10,800 Speaker 1: they're there's really not much to fear that, you know, 466 00:29:10,840 --> 00:29:14,040 Speaker 1: bad bats have gotten a bad rap for a variety 467 00:29:14,080 --> 00:29:16,800 Speaker 1: of different associations. I think, you know, things that are 468 00:29:17,160 --> 00:29:21,440 Speaker 1: associated with being nocturnal sometimes you know, activate sort of 469 00:29:21,760 --> 00:29:24,600 Speaker 1: different kinds of fears, you know, and then you know 470 00:29:24,680 --> 00:29:30,240 Speaker 1: they're vampire bats obviously are a very interesting Uh. There's 471 00:29:30,280 --> 00:29:33,200 Speaker 1: only I think there's three species of vampire bats and 472 00:29:33,400 --> 00:29:36,800 Speaker 1: the four hundred and Um. They have amazing adaptations because 473 00:29:36,840 --> 00:29:40,520 Speaker 1: they are sanguinivorous, which is the fancy word for they 474 00:29:40,560 --> 00:29:44,200 Speaker 1: feed on blood. Um. But they don't suck. Actually, I 475 00:29:44,280 --> 00:29:46,280 Speaker 1: have like shark teeth and they make a little nick 476 00:29:46,320 --> 00:29:51,880 Speaker 1: and then they lap up the very surgical delicate right. Um. 477 00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:54,760 Speaker 1: And uh, you know, at some point that got all 478 00:29:54,800 --> 00:30:00,000 Speaker 1: conflated with you know, um vampire mythology, even though vampi 479 00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:03,680 Speaker 1: our beats live in central uh in South America, not 480 00:30:03,800 --> 00:30:07,680 Speaker 1: anywhere near Translbania in Europe. But and then the other 481 00:30:07,720 --> 00:30:10,640 Speaker 1: thing you know to know is that you know, like 482 00:30:10,680 --> 00:30:15,360 Speaker 1: a lot of wild mammals, bats can be a natural 483 00:30:15,800 --> 00:30:19,920 Speaker 1: um reservoir for rabies. They can carry rabies virus, which 484 00:30:20,480 --> 00:30:24,840 Speaker 1: you know is deadly in humans. So if you had 485 00:30:24,880 --> 00:30:28,400 Speaker 1: the misfortune of you know, getting bit bitten by a bat, 486 00:30:28,440 --> 00:30:32,840 Speaker 1: you should definitely go uh to the hospital and get 487 00:30:32,840 --> 00:30:37,120 Speaker 1: your post exposure rabies vaccine because if you contract the 488 00:30:37,280 --> 00:30:41,200 Speaker 1: disease then it's it's fatal, but there's you can get 489 00:30:41,200 --> 00:30:44,200 Speaker 1: the shots and it will boost your immune system and 490 00:30:44,880 --> 00:30:47,560 Speaker 1: you'll be fine. So one of the reasons why bats 491 00:30:47,560 --> 00:30:50,960 Speaker 1: are so associated with rabies is that it's the incidence 492 00:30:51,000 --> 00:30:54,400 Speaker 1: of rabies and that isn't necessarily that much higher than 493 00:30:54,400 --> 00:30:58,440 Speaker 1: in some other types of mammals like raccoons or skunks. 494 00:30:58,440 --> 00:31:03,560 Speaker 1: But the chance that a person in the in the 495 00:31:03,600 --> 00:31:06,600 Speaker 1: public comes across a bat might be if it's on 496 00:31:06,640 --> 00:31:10,560 Speaker 1: the ground outside their garage or something, and the chance 497 00:31:10,600 --> 00:31:12,280 Speaker 1: that there's something wrong with that, that that that that 498 00:31:12,520 --> 00:31:15,400 Speaker 1: is sick is relatively high, because it wouldn't be there 499 00:31:15,600 --> 00:31:18,680 Speaker 1: if it was healthy. So somebody like me who's out 500 00:31:19,160 --> 00:31:22,840 Speaker 1: capturing bats in their wild environments, you know, most bats 501 00:31:22,880 --> 00:31:26,080 Speaker 1: are healthy and fine. Everybody who works with bats does 502 00:31:26,160 --> 00:31:30,280 Speaker 1: have pre exposure um shots for rabies, but there's no 503 00:31:30,320 --> 00:31:34,640 Speaker 1: reason to necessarily be scared of them. So you should 504 00:31:34,680 --> 00:31:37,239 Speaker 1: know what the public health guidances and if you know, 505 00:31:37,640 --> 00:31:39,400 Speaker 1: you come in contact with the bat, and it's best 506 00:31:39,440 --> 00:31:41,520 Speaker 1: not to touch it with bare hands, but to call 507 00:31:41,600 --> 00:31:45,520 Speaker 1: an animal rescue. But it's not like bats are out 508 00:31:45,600 --> 00:31:50,040 Speaker 1: looking to harm us. No, No, I mean there's only 509 00:31:50,120 --> 00:31:53,200 Speaker 1: and I think out of the three vampires and that species, 510 00:31:53,200 --> 00:31:58,760 Speaker 1: there's only one who's ever been even recorded having eaten 511 00:31:58,880 --> 00:32:03,560 Speaker 1: human blood. And it's usually someone who's like near because 512 00:32:03,560 --> 00:32:06,640 Speaker 1: they're they're it's the hairy legged beat and they're adorable 513 00:32:06,680 --> 00:32:10,600 Speaker 1: by the way, the cutest little faces. And but there 514 00:32:11,320 --> 00:32:15,360 Speaker 1: main source is chickens. So if someone is you know, 515 00:32:15,520 --> 00:32:18,280 Speaker 1: lives on a chicken farm and is near these chickens, 516 00:32:18,320 --> 00:32:21,840 Speaker 1: it it may just be sort of and not an 517 00:32:21,880 --> 00:32:25,400 Speaker 1: accidental but sort of an incidental thing happening. And so 518 00:32:25,480 --> 00:32:27,960 Speaker 1: it's so they really don't they don't, but they don't 519 00:32:28,040 --> 00:32:31,600 Speaker 1: hunt humans. They don't seek out humans specifically. Yeah, vampire 520 00:32:31,600 --> 00:32:35,160 Speaker 1: bats don't hunt humans, and they occur in central mex 521 00:32:35,320 --> 00:32:39,040 Speaker 1: Mexico down through South America. But yeah, it's not. The 522 00:32:39,080 --> 00:32:43,880 Speaker 1: perception of that is way overblown from the reality. So, yeah, 523 00:32:44,200 --> 00:32:48,120 Speaker 1: the other vampires are specialized on birds and and and 524 00:32:48,120 --> 00:32:53,800 Speaker 1: and most vampire bats feed on cattle yum nowadays. So yeah, yeah, 525 00:32:53,800 --> 00:32:56,680 Speaker 1: and it's and they don't even it's not necessarily even 526 00:32:57,000 --> 00:33:00,280 Speaker 1: uh too much of a threat to the cattle other 527 00:33:00,880 --> 00:33:02,640 Speaker 1: then you know a little little cut they do on 528 00:33:02,640 --> 00:33:04,840 Speaker 1: their ankles. But there could it could be well, but 529 00:33:04,880 --> 00:33:08,160 Speaker 1: they can't transmit they can, yeah, they can transmit rabies. 530 00:33:08,200 --> 00:33:11,440 Speaker 1: It is actually there's some economic cost to rabies transmission 531 00:33:11,480 --> 00:33:16,400 Speaker 1: of livestock. Um. That's a whole another another topic. But um, 532 00:33:16,440 --> 00:33:20,120 Speaker 1: you know, luckily we have vaccines, and vaccines are highly 533 00:33:20,160 --> 00:33:24,840 Speaker 1: effective against rabies. You know. Another another misperception is that 534 00:33:24,920 --> 00:33:28,040 Speaker 1: you know, bats will like fly into your hair and 535 00:33:28,040 --> 00:33:30,560 Speaker 1: all that kind of silliness. You know. I think one 536 00:33:30,600 --> 00:33:32,920 Speaker 1: of the things that about bats is that you know, 537 00:33:32,920 --> 00:33:35,600 Speaker 1: they're they're flying at night, and they fly erratically. And 538 00:33:35,640 --> 00:33:38,959 Speaker 1: the reason why they fly erratically is because they're really 539 00:33:39,000 --> 00:33:41,640 Speaker 1: agile flyers and they're looking for insects out of the 540 00:33:41,760 --> 00:33:45,000 Speaker 1: night sky and the um and so when you see 541 00:33:45,000 --> 00:33:48,680 Speaker 1: about sort of fluttering and flipping around and looking like it's, 542 00:33:48,880 --> 00:33:52,840 Speaker 1: you know, doing some crazy dance move, it's because it's 543 00:33:53,320 --> 00:33:56,200 Speaker 1: honing in on an insect and then actually catching that 544 00:33:56,280 --> 00:34:00,080 Speaker 1: insect with it has a a a membrane of in 545 00:34:00,160 --> 00:34:02,440 Speaker 1: between its hind legs and it uses it like a 546 00:34:03,040 --> 00:34:06,360 Speaker 1: catcher's in net. Yeah, and then and then it you know, um, 547 00:34:06,560 --> 00:34:08,520 Speaker 1: finds the insect with its mouth, so it does this 548 00:34:08,640 --> 00:34:11,080 Speaker 1: like you know, quick little duck where then you know, 549 00:34:11,160 --> 00:34:13,279 Speaker 1: get grabs the insect with its feet or its tail 550 00:34:13,280 --> 00:34:17,000 Speaker 1: membrane and then folds up and grabs it. And and 551 00:34:17,040 --> 00:34:19,840 Speaker 1: so that will cause the bat to look like it's 552 00:34:19,920 --> 00:34:22,880 Speaker 1: flying sort of out of control. And so if you 553 00:34:22,960 --> 00:34:25,560 Speaker 1: were watching that and and and you know that it's 554 00:34:25,600 --> 00:34:28,840 Speaker 1: at dusk, and you can't really see them very clearly, 555 00:34:28,920 --> 00:34:31,720 Speaker 1: and so I think some of that erratic flight and 556 00:34:32,280 --> 00:34:34,400 Speaker 1: um the fact that you can't quite picture what it 557 00:34:34,400 --> 00:34:39,840 Speaker 1: looks like might play into some some people feeling scared 558 00:34:39,920 --> 00:34:41,960 Speaker 1: or something. But if you take a moment and realize 559 00:34:41,960 --> 00:34:45,200 Speaker 1: that there's no it's not at all threatening to you, 560 00:34:45,719 --> 00:34:49,120 Speaker 1: and that they're you know, cleaning up all the insects 561 00:34:49,160 --> 00:34:52,920 Speaker 1: out of the sky around you, then it's actually beautiful 562 00:34:53,000 --> 00:34:55,280 Speaker 1: to watch. And then the other thing is that sometimes 563 00:34:55,480 --> 00:34:59,719 Speaker 1: people will find um bats like up in crevices on 564 00:35:00,920 --> 00:35:04,799 Speaker 1: the sides of houses or something, and and so you know, 565 00:35:04,880 --> 00:35:06,560 Speaker 1: I don't know, if you know, if you can't see 566 00:35:06,600 --> 00:35:08,840 Speaker 1: them clearly or something, and they look kind of tucked 567 00:35:08,880 --> 00:35:12,319 Speaker 1: up in there, um, you know, there's no reason to 568 00:35:12,320 --> 00:35:13,840 Speaker 1: be scared of them. But that's the other way that 569 00:35:13,880 --> 00:35:17,560 Speaker 1: people will kind of experience bats maybe kind of like 570 00:35:17,600 --> 00:35:21,960 Speaker 1: you're not expecting to see them and you're kind of startled. Yeah, 571 00:35:22,000 --> 00:35:25,480 Speaker 1: but there's really no reason to be scared. And they're 572 00:35:25,520 --> 00:35:28,440 Speaker 1: they're really and the more you learn about them, the 573 00:35:28,520 --> 00:35:33,040 Speaker 1: more fascinating in terms of just their ability to like 574 00:35:33,080 --> 00:35:36,440 Speaker 1: we're talking earlier, like you sound, to perceive their landscape. 575 00:35:36,480 --> 00:35:41,760 Speaker 1: They're eating insects, um and uh, provide you know, lots 576 00:35:41,760 --> 00:35:45,840 Speaker 1: of services and they're cute and like yeah, and the 577 00:35:46,120 --> 00:35:49,360 Speaker 1: you know, the nectar feeding bats that like slurp up nectar. 578 00:35:49,560 --> 00:35:53,240 Speaker 1: They have you know, long tongues and their important pollinators 579 00:35:53,280 --> 00:35:56,560 Speaker 1: and yeah, they're they're very cool. So that actually leads 580 00:35:56,600 --> 00:36:03,080 Speaker 1: me into some of our listener questions, and so Whitney asks, 581 00:36:03,239 --> 00:36:08,200 Speaker 1: why do some bats have smooth noses and others little 582 00:36:08,239 --> 00:36:12,640 Speaker 1: adorable snouts? So bat faces, like we've talked about, are 583 00:36:12,719 --> 00:36:17,000 Speaker 1: really diverse. I know that face shape has to do 584 00:36:17,080 --> 00:36:21,880 Speaker 1: with different dietary and hunting methods depends on whether the 585 00:36:21,960 --> 00:36:26,200 Speaker 1: bat uses echolocation or not. But it's it's interesting because 586 00:36:26,200 --> 00:36:29,200 Speaker 1: it seems like there's not sort of one rule, like 587 00:36:29,360 --> 00:36:32,120 Speaker 1: you only have a long snout if you're a nectar 588 00:36:32,400 --> 00:36:36,719 Speaker 1: nectarivore um, or you only have a because like it 589 00:36:36,760 --> 00:36:39,839 Speaker 1: seems that there are bats who have short faces who 590 00:36:40,040 --> 00:36:44,080 Speaker 1: are frugivores and also long faces that are frugivores. So 591 00:36:44,160 --> 00:36:47,799 Speaker 1: you'll have flying foxes who have relatively long snouts that 592 00:36:47,880 --> 00:36:50,160 Speaker 1: are frugivores. But then you'll have leaf nose bats who 593 00:36:50,239 --> 00:36:54,680 Speaker 1: also eat fruit who have shorter faces. So it seems 594 00:36:54,719 --> 00:36:59,200 Speaker 1: that these face ships, sorry, these face shapes are highly specialized. 595 00:36:59,360 --> 00:37:03,680 Speaker 1: So maybe a shorter faced a shorter faced bat who 596 00:37:03,920 --> 00:37:06,960 Speaker 1: is a fruit eater maybe eats harder fruit, so it 597 00:37:07,000 --> 00:37:12,040 Speaker 1: has like more of a mechanical advantage with its jaw shape. Um. 598 00:37:12,160 --> 00:37:17,239 Speaker 1: But uh, and you know, like we discussed with the 599 00:37:17,360 --> 00:37:21,560 Speaker 1: Hills his horseshoe bat, that incredible face helps it in 600 00:37:21,680 --> 00:37:25,000 Speaker 1: terms of echolocation. So there are some bats that have 601 00:37:25,680 --> 00:37:28,160 Speaker 1: pointed faces or at least like a pointed kind of 602 00:37:28,160 --> 00:37:33,040 Speaker 1: like nose flat that may help direct echolocation. And so 603 00:37:33,239 --> 00:37:35,520 Speaker 1: there are so many different factors that you have with 604 00:37:35,560 --> 00:37:38,720 Speaker 1: these bats in terms of both their their diet, how 605 00:37:38,840 --> 00:37:42,240 Speaker 1: they perceive the world, in terms of whether they're using echolocation, 606 00:37:42,719 --> 00:37:46,399 Speaker 1: and very specifically, like what kinds of foods in their 607 00:37:46,440 --> 00:37:48,640 Speaker 1: diet they eat. Are they eating hard fruit? Are they 608 00:37:48,640 --> 00:37:52,320 Speaker 1: eating softer fruit? Are they eating nectar? And so? Uh, 609 00:37:52,400 --> 00:37:54,840 Speaker 1: you know, but as a as a bad ecologist, you 610 00:37:54,920 --> 00:37:59,160 Speaker 1: must have seen like so many different types of bat faces, 611 00:37:59,239 --> 00:38:03,160 Speaker 1: which I'm so astounded by, like how many different faces 612 00:38:03,440 --> 00:38:06,520 Speaker 1: face shapes that they have. And so in your experience, 613 00:38:06,600 --> 00:38:09,399 Speaker 1: like is there is there an easy answer to like 614 00:38:09,480 --> 00:38:14,000 Speaker 1: the smoothed face versus longer face? I think you give 615 00:38:14,040 --> 00:38:17,640 Speaker 1: a great answer. You're you're totally spot on that it 616 00:38:17,640 --> 00:38:20,799 Speaker 1: has has everything to do with diet, and it has 617 00:38:20,840 --> 00:38:22,600 Speaker 1: a little bit and it well has everything to do 618 00:38:22,680 --> 00:38:28,400 Speaker 1: with diet. And also your family tree. So in the neotropics, 619 00:38:28,600 --> 00:38:33,120 Speaker 1: so in central in the America's there's one family of 620 00:38:33,200 --> 00:38:37,160 Speaker 1: bats called the philas Domada and they are m the 621 00:38:37,239 --> 00:38:40,879 Speaker 1: leaf nos bats, and so they have this very characteristic 622 00:38:40,960 --> 00:38:44,920 Speaker 1: little you know, leaf knows that has this little leaf 623 00:38:44,920 --> 00:38:48,120 Speaker 1: flap of skin. And so that's a trait of that 624 00:38:48,239 --> 00:38:52,120 Speaker 1: whole family. And then within that family, um is where 625 00:38:52,160 --> 00:38:57,360 Speaker 1: we actually see an amazing adaptive radiation of diet diversity 626 00:38:57,440 --> 00:39:02,520 Speaker 1: in bats. So most of um, most of bats are 627 00:39:03,200 --> 00:39:06,840 Speaker 1: in the ancestral state of bats are insectivorous UM and 628 00:39:06,880 --> 00:39:10,600 Speaker 1: echo heating and so all of the amazing diet diversity 629 00:39:10,640 --> 00:39:13,360 Speaker 1: that we think of is mostly contained in the Philus 630 00:39:13,400 --> 00:39:18,680 Speaker 1: domaday so not counting the flying foxes and interopid bats 631 00:39:18,440 --> 00:39:21,640 Speaker 1: of the Old world. So all the nectar feeding bats, 632 00:39:21,719 --> 00:39:25,120 Speaker 1: the forgiverrous bats, so much of the diet diversity that 633 00:39:25,200 --> 00:39:29,120 Speaker 1: we see is in that Philus domad day family. So 634 00:39:29,200 --> 00:39:33,640 Speaker 1: the nectar feeding bats, the and and forgiverous bats, even 635 00:39:33,680 --> 00:39:37,920 Speaker 1: the vampire bats are in that in that family um. 636 00:39:37,960 --> 00:39:41,000 Speaker 1: And there's also insectivorous species in that family as well, 637 00:39:41,360 --> 00:39:45,799 Speaker 1: and so some of that you know, the um the 638 00:39:45,880 --> 00:39:49,000 Speaker 1: nose leaf anyway is a characteristic of that family. And 639 00:39:49,040 --> 00:39:51,319 Speaker 1: then you also have bats in the Old World in 640 00:39:51,320 --> 00:39:53,840 Speaker 1: a different family. Uh. So, like we're talking about the 641 00:39:53,840 --> 00:39:57,200 Speaker 1: horseshoe bats, they have different kinds of adaptations, and that 642 00:39:57,480 --> 00:40:03,520 Speaker 1: characteristic not horseshoe aped uh nose feature is at the 643 00:40:03,560 --> 00:40:06,640 Speaker 1: family level. And then the round leaf bats, which are 644 00:40:06,800 --> 00:40:09,680 Speaker 1: in the Hippo Sidera dae family um, also have a 645 00:40:09,760 --> 00:40:13,759 Speaker 1: very characteristic nose leaf shape that is the charactress of 646 00:40:13,760 --> 00:40:15,839 Speaker 1: that family. So part of it is your you know, 647 00:40:16,040 --> 00:40:18,759 Speaker 1: your family tree and then and then part of it 648 00:40:18,920 --> 00:40:22,279 Speaker 1: is is your diet uh. And and what you're eating. 649 00:40:22,280 --> 00:40:25,880 Speaker 1: There's some great colleagues of mine who actually study the 650 00:40:27,480 --> 00:40:31,480 Speaker 1: bite force of different bat species and looking at that 651 00:40:31,560 --> 00:40:34,239 Speaker 1: bite force relative to the kinds of foods that they eat. 652 00:40:34,360 --> 00:40:37,319 Speaker 1: So the things that you were talking about in terms of, 653 00:40:37,600 --> 00:40:40,160 Speaker 1: you know, the hardness of the fruit and whether you're 654 00:40:40,760 --> 00:40:45,319 Speaker 1: primarily drinking nectar or kind of doing both nectar and 655 00:40:45,440 --> 00:40:49,200 Speaker 1: fruit or just eating fruit, um, all of those things 656 00:40:49,200 --> 00:40:51,720 Speaker 1: will come into play in terms of your face shape 657 00:40:51,760 --> 00:40:55,400 Speaker 1: and face features. That's that's really cool. I just I 658 00:40:55,480 --> 00:40:59,160 Speaker 1: love that they have. They express so much personality through 659 00:40:59,200 --> 00:41:02,000 Speaker 1: their faces, and it really does. It is kind of 660 00:41:02,000 --> 00:41:05,319 Speaker 1: an indicator of these like very different, interesting lives that 661 00:41:05,400 --> 00:41:08,719 Speaker 1: they all need. And of course the flying boxes that 662 00:41:08,760 --> 00:41:11,719 Speaker 1: don't echolocate have really big eyes. That makes sense. They're 663 00:41:11,719 --> 00:41:16,040 Speaker 1: not using sound to to hunt hunt for prey or 664 00:41:16,080 --> 00:41:20,360 Speaker 1: find flowers. They're using both vision and smell. So they 665 00:41:20,480 --> 00:41:24,520 Speaker 1: also usually have like larger noses because they're using other 666 00:41:24,600 --> 00:41:29,319 Speaker 1: senses and that's what makes them sky puppies. Yes, so 667 00:41:29,600 --> 00:41:33,200 Speaker 1: friend of the show Sean Baby on Twitter asks, my 668 00:41:33,360 --> 00:41:36,400 Speaker 1: kid and I love a video where Australian bats dive 669 00:41:36,480 --> 00:41:39,799 Speaker 1: bomb a crocodile infested river to get their tummies wet 670 00:41:39,880 --> 00:41:42,440 Speaker 1: so they can suck the water out later. Are they 671 00:41:42,480 --> 00:41:47,000 Speaker 1: anomalies or do all bats drink like total maniacs. So 672 00:41:48,600 --> 00:41:52,120 Speaker 1: one of the reasons that bats actually dive bomb sources 673 00:41:52,160 --> 00:41:55,400 Speaker 1: of water, whether they're going to get their bellies wet 674 00:41:55,520 --> 00:41:58,759 Speaker 1: or to like take little SIPs basically scoop up some 675 00:41:58,800 --> 00:42:02,080 Speaker 1: water with their mouths, is that they cannot stop and 676 00:42:02,160 --> 00:42:05,640 Speaker 1: land near water. Not only would it make them a 677 00:42:05,680 --> 00:42:10,200 Speaker 1: prime target for predators, it is almost it's also very 678 00:42:10,280 --> 00:42:14,560 Speaker 1: difficult or impossible for most species of bats to take 679 00:42:14,560 --> 00:42:19,239 Speaker 1: off directly from the ground. So most bats typically will 680 00:42:19,280 --> 00:42:22,480 Speaker 1: go into flight by dropping down from a perch and 681 00:42:23,160 --> 00:42:25,880 Speaker 1: uh flying. They don't really it's not like a bird 682 00:42:26,000 --> 00:42:29,040 Speaker 1: where they often will take off from the ground. Now, 683 00:42:29,160 --> 00:42:34,040 Speaker 1: there are notable exceptions to that. I believe some species 684 00:42:34,120 --> 00:42:39,080 Speaker 1: of vampire bats and certain insectivores are able to kind 685 00:42:39,120 --> 00:42:42,240 Speaker 1: of do a running hop thing and get off the 686 00:42:42,280 --> 00:42:45,759 Speaker 1: ground and take off into flight. But dr frick do 687 00:42:45,760 --> 00:42:48,480 Speaker 1: you know, like what is sort of the typical method 688 00:42:48,520 --> 00:42:52,239 Speaker 1: for bats to drink water? Yeah, so most bats will 689 00:42:52,280 --> 00:42:54,040 Speaker 1: drink on the what we call drinking on the wing, 690 00:42:54,520 --> 00:42:58,160 Speaker 1: and so they'll fly down and they won't necessarily dip 691 00:42:58,200 --> 00:43:01,840 Speaker 1: their bellies, but they'll just app at water as they 692 00:43:01,880 --> 00:43:05,920 Speaker 1: as they fly. Most bats need to drink free drink water. Um. 693 00:43:06,000 --> 00:43:08,799 Speaker 1: There are some like desert adapted bats that can get 694 00:43:08,840 --> 00:43:12,520 Speaker 1: water from their diet but then don't need access to 695 00:43:12,680 --> 00:43:15,960 Speaker 1: standing water. But water is really important for most bats. 696 00:43:15,960 --> 00:43:18,200 Speaker 1: In fact um, if you've ever worked in the desert 697 00:43:18,280 --> 00:43:20,480 Speaker 1: as a bat biologist, you just you know just how 698 00:43:20,520 --> 00:43:22,480 Speaker 1: important it is, because that's one of the best places 699 00:43:22,480 --> 00:43:25,360 Speaker 1: to catch bats is to um put up your missnets 700 00:43:25,400 --> 00:43:27,880 Speaker 1: over a water hole, and that's will also be attracted 701 00:43:27,880 --> 00:43:30,319 Speaker 1: to water to hunt for insects too. That a lot 702 00:43:30,360 --> 00:43:34,080 Speaker 1: of a lot of insects emerge from the water where 703 00:43:34,080 --> 00:43:38,000 Speaker 1: they there's a larval stage of the insect in the water, 704 00:43:38,080 --> 00:43:41,160 Speaker 1: and then they'll come to the surface and and basically 705 00:43:41,280 --> 00:43:44,040 Speaker 1: emerge in the flying form, will take off, and bats 706 00:43:44,040 --> 00:43:48,200 Speaker 1: are looking for those emergent aquatic insects and we'll scoop 707 00:43:48,239 --> 00:43:51,040 Speaker 1: those up actually with their feet off of like an 708 00:43:51,040 --> 00:43:55,000 Speaker 1: osprey hunts for fish. And so that's you may see 709 00:43:55,040 --> 00:44:00,440 Speaker 1: bats going over water, and they may not necessarily just drinking. 710 00:44:00,480 --> 00:44:03,440 Speaker 1: They may also be foraging for insects. So you're right 711 00:44:03,480 --> 00:44:05,879 Speaker 1: that there are some species that can't take off from 712 00:44:05,880 --> 00:44:08,520 Speaker 1: the ground, but I wouldn't I'm not sure i'd characterize 713 00:44:08,560 --> 00:44:11,480 Speaker 1: that most species can't take off from actually say that 714 00:44:11,960 --> 00:44:13,799 Speaker 1: not being able to take off from the ground is 715 00:44:13,800 --> 00:44:17,000 Speaker 1: probably more of the exception than the rule, and and 716 00:44:17,080 --> 00:44:19,760 Speaker 1: certainly some species are much better at it than others. 717 00:44:20,400 --> 00:44:24,400 Speaker 1: Vampire pats are particularly good at sort of hopping and 718 00:44:24,480 --> 00:44:28,640 Speaker 1: levitating up off ground. Palid bats that hunt scorpions on 719 00:44:28,680 --> 00:44:31,680 Speaker 1: the ground are also really good at taking off. A 720 00:44:31,719 --> 00:44:35,520 Speaker 1: lot of we look at the foraging sort of strategies 721 00:44:35,560 --> 00:44:38,160 Speaker 1: of bats based off of their wing shapes, and bats 722 00:44:38,160 --> 00:44:43,000 Speaker 1: that have broad wings are really maneuverable and they're more 723 00:44:43,040 --> 00:44:45,680 Speaker 1: likely to be able to kind of take off, whereas 724 00:44:45,719 --> 00:44:50,759 Speaker 1: bats with narrow wings are more adapted for fast, high 725 00:44:50,840 --> 00:44:54,400 Speaker 1: flying things like the Mexican freetail bat or other freetail bats, 726 00:44:54,440 --> 00:44:58,560 Speaker 1: and they have a harder time taken from the um. 727 00:44:58,719 --> 00:45:01,120 Speaker 1: But you're but you're asolutely right that it it doesn't 728 00:45:01,480 --> 00:45:03,560 Speaker 1: You've got the advantage of flight. It doesn't make a 729 00:45:03,640 --> 00:45:05,719 Speaker 1: lot of sense to land and crawl up to the 730 00:45:05,800 --> 00:45:08,719 Speaker 1: surface of the water. And a lot of bats are 731 00:45:08,760 --> 00:45:13,400 Speaker 1: already you know, foraging for insects, and so the ability 732 00:45:13,440 --> 00:45:16,759 Speaker 1: to just take a sip on the wing um is 733 00:45:16,800 --> 00:45:19,600 Speaker 1: a much better strategy and drink for the road, or 734 00:45:19,920 --> 00:45:24,759 Speaker 1: I to like drink like maniacs, So I'm going to 735 00:45:24,920 --> 00:45:34,520 Speaker 1: use that. And that was Dr Winnifred Cheap, scientist of 736 00:45:34,680 --> 00:45:38,560 Speaker 1: Bat Conservation International. And that was the tail of the 737 00:45:38,719 --> 00:45:43,120 Speaker 1: rediscovered Hills's horseshoe bat, once thought to be extinct, but 738 00:45:43,400 --> 00:45:47,080 Speaker 1: is in fact still flap it around. So before we go, 739 00:45:47,160 --> 00:45:50,960 Speaker 1: we've got to play around of your favorite animal podcast game, 740 00:45:51,440 --> 00:45:55,640 Speaker 1: Guess Who's squawking? Every week I play a mystery animal 741 00:45:55,760 --> 00:46:00,760 Speaker 1: sound and you guess who's making that sound. So last 742 00:46:00,800 --> 00:46:04,400 Speaker 1: week's hint is you may find these little dudes boogieing 743 00:46:04,520 --> 00:46:07,720 Speaker 1: to an imaginary beat, but it's probably for the prey 744 00:46:07,840 --> 00:46:18,040 Speaker 1: that lies deep beneath their feet. Yes, yes, yes, can 745 00:46:18,080 --> 00:46:22,920 Speaker 1: you guess who's squawking? Well, congratulations to Joey P. Aussie 746 00:46:23,120 --> 00:46:26,920 Speaker 1: and Trish H who all correctly guessed it was the 747 00:46:27,000 --> 00:46:31,360 Speaker 1: sound of the American woodcock. So the American woodcock a 748 00:46:31,560 --> 00:46:34,520 Speaker 1: k a. The timber doodle is a small bird found 749 00:46:34,520 --> 00:46:38,320 Speaker 1: in North America. While it's technically a shore bird related 750 00:46:38,320 --> 00:46:43,320 Speaker 1: to sandpipers, woodcocks live in forested areas with a long, 751 00:46:43,440 --> 00:46:47,680 Speaker 1: wedge shaped beak, brown bark like plumage, and compact egg 752 00:46:47,719 --> 00:46:51,640 Speaker 1: shaped frame. It is a serious cutie with a serious 753 00:46:51,680 --> 00:46:56,359 Speaker 1: appetite for worms. Woodcocks rock back and forth as they 754 00:46:56,440 --> 00:47:00,360 Speaker 1: hunt for worms, which biologists speculate maybe away for the 755 00:47:00,400 --> 00:47:03,920 Speaker 1: birds to scare the worms into moving, which makes them 756 00:47:04,000 --> 00:47:07,960 Speaker 1: easier to feel with their feet and catch. The male 757 00:47:08,040 --> 00:47:12,680 Speaker 1: woodcock tries to woo females with their distinctive peat sound 758 00:47:12,880 --> 00:47:16,799 Speaker 1: that they make during mating season. They will also fly 759 00:47:17,080 --> 00:47:20,360 Speaker 1: high up into the sky and zoom back down to 760 00:47:20,480 --> 00:47:24,360 Speaker 1: earth in a serpentine pattern to try to dazzle potential 761 00:47:24,600 --> 00:47:29,120 Speaker 1: mates with their death defying stunts. As mating season tends 762 00:47:29,160 --> 00:47:32,239 Speaker 1: to be in the spring, if you live near forested 763 00:47:32,280 --> 00:47:36,560 Speaker 1: habitats in Atlantic Canada, the East coast of the US, 764 00:47:36,719 --> 00:47:39,839 Speaker 1: or in the Midwest, you may just see a male 765 00:47:39,880 --> 00:47:44,560 Speaker 1: woodcock doing his sky dance. So on to this week's 766 00:47:44,719 --> 00:47:50,080 Speaker 1: mystery animal sound. The hint don't jump to conclusions with 767 00:47:50,200 --> 00:48:01,760 Speaker 1: this sound. M M. Can you guess who's making that sound? 768 00:48:02,120 --> 00:48:04,840 Speaker 1: If you think you know the answer, right to me 769 00:48:05,120 --> 00:48:08,720 Speaker 1: at creature feature Pod at gmail dot com. I'm also 770 00:48:08,760 --> 00:48:12,440 Speaker 1: on Twitter at creature feet Pod. That's f e f 771 00:48:12,600 --> 00:48:16,200 Speaker 1: et that is something very different, or at Katie Golden, 772 00:48:16,920 --> 00:48:19,440 Speaker 1: where I write M Katie Thoughts. Thank you so much 773 00:48:19,520 --> 00:48:22,560 Speaker 1: for listening. If you're enjoying the show and you leave 774 00:48:22,640 --> 00:48:26,239 Speaker 1: a rating or review, I will deeply appreciate it. I 775 00:48:26,280 --> 00:48:29,279 Speaker 1: read all the reviews and I love them and I 776 00:48:29,360 --> 00:48:33,120 Speaker 1: cherish them. And thanks so much to the Space Classics 777 00:48:33,200 --> 00:48:36,560 Speaker 1: for their super awesome song Exo. Lumina Creature features a 778 00:48:36,640 --> 00:48:40,400 Speaker 1: production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts like the 779 00:48:40,400 --> 00:48:42,440 Speaker 1: one you just heard, visit the I Heart Radio app 780 00:48:42,440 --> 00:48:45,200 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or Hey Guess what where if you listen 781 00:48:45,239 --> 00:48:48,240 Speaker 1: to your favorite shows, See you next Wednesday.