1 00:00:06,920 --> 00:00:10,160 Speaker 1: Welcome to Creature future production of I Heart Radio. I'm 2 00:00:10,200 --> 00:00:13,800 Speaker 1: your host of Mini Parasites, Katie Golden. I studied psychology 3 00:00:13,800 --> 00:00:16,599 Speaker 1: and evolutionary biology, and today on the show on the 4 00:00:16,640 --> 00:00:20,919 Speaker 1: Origin of feces, we'll find that determining the origin of 5 00:00:20,960 --> 00:00:26,000 Speaker 1: poop can be incredibly important for evolutionary biology and even conservation. 6 00:00:26,440 --> 00:00:30,400 Speaker 1: From discovering the origins of butts defining the mystery pooper 7 00:00:30,440 --> 00:00:33,280 Speaker 1: at zoos, it turns out that poop can teach us 8 00:00:33,320 --> 00:00:36,760 Speaker 1: a lot about animals. And later I'll be joined by 9 00:00:36,760 --> 00:00:42,080 Speaker 1: the real life Batman of Mexico, Dr. Rodrigo Medelline to 10 00:00:42,159 --> 00:00:46,240 Speaker 1: talk about glowing poop and long nose bats. But first 11 00:00:46,560 --> 00:00:49,200 Speaker 1: joining me today to talk about all sorts of craft 12 00:00:49,600 --> 00:00:52,519 Speaker 1: is friend of the show, podcast producer and writer Joel 13 00:00:52,640 --> 00:00:56,640 Speaker 1: Monique Cog. Thank you so much for having me back. 14 00:00:56,760 --> 00:01:01,280 Speaker 1: I'm elity to talk about poop bal d Yes, I'm 15 00:01:01,280 --> 00:01:03,959 Speaker 1: excited about this one. Excited that you're here to talk 16 00:01:03,960 --> 00:01:09,360 Speaker 1: about poop with me. So poop is not always just disgusting. 17 00:01:09,520 --> 00:01:13,680 Speaker 1: Sometimes it is a scientific marvel and it actually teaches 18 00:01:13,760 --> 00:01:17,240 Speaker 1: us a lot about animals and uh, later on in 19 00:01:17,240 --> 00:01:19,920 Speaker 1: the show, we're gonna talk about glowing bat poop, which 20 00:01:19,959 --> 00:01:23,240 Speaker 1: is super exciting. I already did the interview, uh and 21 00:01:23,400 --> 00:01:26,080 Speaker 1: I think it's really fun, So so be pumped for 22 00:01:26,120 --> 00:01:30,319 Speaker 1: that everyone. But first we're going to talk about one 23 00:01:30,360 --> 00:01:35,440 Speaker 1: of the world's earliest poopers, very ancient animal called the 24 00:01:35,560 --> 00:01:40,000 Speaker 1: comb jelly. Have you ever seen a comb jelly? But 25 00:01:40,080 --> 00:01:47,000 Speaker 1: I'm googling right now? Is it okay for the listeners? See? Oh, 26 00:01:47,200 --> 00:01:51,120 Speaker 1: corn jelly, come jelly, comb jelly com c l n 27 00:01:51,200 --> 00:01:55,480 Speaker 1: e j l y No, no comb like a hair comb, 28 00:01:55,720 --> 00:01:59,360 Speaker 1: homb jelly. I just want you to know that if 29 00:01:59,440 --> 00:02:02,040 Speaker 1: you type and comb jelly, Google knows what you're talking about. 30 00:02:04,080 --> 00:02:06,960 Speaker 1: It will direct you to the right page. Oh oh 31 00:02:07,040 --> 00:02:13,920 Speaker 1: they're beautiful. Yes, they look ancient, they look like aliens. 32 00:02:14,040 --> 00:02:21,160 Speaker 1: They are clearly about that pride because they glow rainbow tendrils. Yeah, 33 00:02:21,200 --> 00:02:23,320 Speaker 1: a little late for Pride months, but hey, every month 34 00:02:23,360 --> 00:02:25,880 Speaker 1: should be Pride months, and it never ends unless you're 35 00:02:25,880 --> 00:02:30,080 Speaker 1: a corporation. Here Pride all the right exactly. Corporations took 36 00:02:30,120 --> 00:02:34,040 Speaker 1: down their pride flags already, not not comb jellies. It's 37 00:02:34,080 --> 00:02:38,239 Speaker 1: Pride year for comb jellies. But yeah, they are beautiful, 38 00:02:38,280 --> 00:02:42,480 Speaker 1: beautiful marine invertebrates. They may look a little bit like jellyfish, 39 00:02:42,480 --> 00:02:45,800 Speaker 1: but they're actually not jellyfish. They're not They're not a 40 00:02:46,080 --> 00:02:49,320 Speaker 1: what a jellyfish is called, like a Nigerian. They're actually 41 00:02:49,360 --> 00:02:53,799 Speaker 1: in the phylum Tinophora. And instead of using undulation like 42 00:02:53,960 --> 00:02:56,600 Speaker 1: jellyfish use to move, they have a bunch of cilia, 43 00:02:57,000 --> 00:03:01,360 Speaker 1: which are tiny mobile hairs lining their spaceship like bodies. 44 00:03:01,400 --> 00:03:03,359 Speaker 1: So there's shape kind of like a spaceship, like a 45 00:03:03,720 --> 00:03:08,959 Speaker 1: transparent alien spaceship that has led lights, shimmering rainbow l 46 00:03:09,000 --> 00:03:11,120 Speaker 1: e d s that just like going sort of a 47 00:03:11,240 --> 00:03:15,079 Speaker 1: wave down their backs, and that's actually the silly and 48 00:03:15,280 --> 00:03:20,960 Speaker 1: moving in synchrony, and as the light refracts off the cilia, 49 00:03:21,120 --> 00:03:24,079 Speaker 1: it looks just like led lights going down like you 50 00:03:24,160 --> 00:03:26,919 Speaker 1: know those Christmas lights that kind of go in a 51 00:03:27,040 --> 00:03:29,200 Speaker 1: wave where like one light trends on in the next 52 00:03:29,280 --> 00:03:33,200 Speaker 1: and prossessionally lights. Yes, exactly, that's what these look like. 53 00:03:33,280 --> 00:03:37,040 Speaker 1: And that's because of these hairs waving in this wave 54 00:03:37,400 --> 00:03:40,680 Speaker 1: so that they can move forward. But then the light 55 00:03:40,760 --> 00:03:43,760 Speaker 1: refracts differently, and some of them have bioluminescence, so the 56 00:03:43,840 --> 00:03:48,040 Speaker 1: bioluminescence will then refract differently through these silia as they 57 00:03:48,080 --> 00:03:50,840 Speaker 1: move so they look like a glowing spaceship. It's an 58 00:03:50,960 --> 00:03:56,800 Speaker 1: incredible there, seriously gorgeous features. Star Trek really should have 59 00:03:56,920 --> 00:03:59,280 Speaker 1: been on this already, and maybe they have. I am 60 00:03:59,360 --> 00:04:03,960 Speaker 1: not the most start check knowledgeable person on the planet, 61 00:04:04,120 --> 00:04:07,080 Speaker 1: but they really do look like spaceships, and they really 62 00:04:07,120 --> 00:04:10,840 Speaker 1: are beautiful. I don't want to jump ahead. But I'm 63 00:04:10,920 --> 00:04:15,120 Speaker 1: also seeing something called a blood belly comb jelly. Oh wow, 64 00:04:15,400 --> 00:04:20,080 Speaker 1: do you know about this? Um? Let me look it up. 65 00:04:20,120 --> 00:04:24,840 Speaker 1: I'm not sure. Oh wow, yeah, no, I I think 66 00:04:24,880 --> 00:04:26,680 Speaker 1: I may have seen these guys before, but I didn't 67 00:04:26,680 --> 00:04:30,279 Speaker 1: know they were called blood belly. It's so, it's okay. 68 00:04:30,640 --> 00:04:33,120 Speaker 1: If you think about the comb jelly as the like 69 00:04:33,680 --> 00:04:40,480 Speaker 1: peaceful pride like gorgeous angular spaceship conquering the cosmos with 70 00:04:40,560 --> 00:04:45,240 Speaker 1: its beauty. Uh, the blood belly is like a evil, 71 00:04:45,360 --> 00:04:50,600 Speaker 1: demented step sister, uh, who will devour your soul. It 72 00:04:50,839 --> 00:04:55,880 Speaker 1: has no qualms about it to survive. Yea, which is 73 00:04:55,960 --> 00:04:59,720 Speaker 1: I think biologically accurate. Now, those are beautiful. Yeah, they 74 00:05:00,080 --> 00:05:02,280 Speaker 1: kind of look like they look sort of like a 75 00:05:02,360 --> 00:05:05,520 Speaker 1: comb jelly, but then they have kind of a kind 76 00:05:05,560 --> 00:05:08,520 Speaker 1: of a pair of balls sort of dangling down and 77 00:05:09,120 --> 00:05:13,760 Speaker 1: back just hanging out with with their weird forbs. You know, 78 00:05:14,400 --> 00:05:18,920 Speaker 1: still very like alien technology like stuff going on. The 79 00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:21,680 Speaker 1: reason I bring them up on this poopisode is that 80 00:05:22,279 --> 00:05:25,240 Speaker 1: we've actually talked about them before on the show the 81 00:05:25,360 --> 00:05:29,120 Speaker 1: episode Think Outside the Butt, where we talked about animals 82 00:05:29,200 --> 00:05:32,640 Speaker 1: that don't have conventional butts, and we talked about a 83 00:05:32,720 --> 00:05:35,920 Speaker 1: species of comb jelly that is one of the only 84 00:05:36,040 --> 00:05:39,360 Speaker 1: animals to not have a permanent anus, where they seem 85 00:05:39,440 --> 00:05:43,520 Speaker 1: to have what's called a transient anus, where they sprout 86 00:05:43,640 --> 00:05:47,440 Speaker 1: a butt wherever they need it. Oh and yeah, which 87 00:05:47,560 --> 00:05:52,240 Speaker 1: is really interesting but exactly, I love that idea, just like, 88 00:05:52,400 --> 00:05:54,280 Speaker 1: you know, you don't always need a butt, you just 89 00:05:54,440 --> 00:05:57,520 Speaker 1: get one when you need it. You know, absolutely most 90 00:05:57,600 --> 00:06:00,919 Speaker 1: comb jellies do just have a mouth and an anus. 91 00:06:01,120 --> 00:06:04,680 Speaker 1: But that isn't what scientists originally thought. They used to 92 00:06:04,880 --> 00:06:08,040 Speaker 1: think that comb jellies did not have butts, that they 93 00:06:08,160 --> 00:06:11,360 Speaker 1: only had a mouth and they had no anus. Uh, 94 00:06:11,560 --> 00:06:14,920 Speaker 1: So basically they there is this concept that there is 95 00:06:14,960 --> 00:06:19,440 Speaker 1: a linear progression of the evolutionary development of the butt, 96 00:06:19,600 --> 00:06:22,400 Speaker 1: where you started out with very simple ancient animals like 97 00:06:22,520 --> 00:06:25,920 Speaker 1: comb jellies that would only have one whole mouth and 98 00:06:26,040 --> 00:06:28,280 Speaker 1: they'd eat stuff through the mouth and then vomit it 99 00:06:28,360 --> 00:06:31,839 Speaker 1: back up, and then later on more complex animals started 100 00:06:31,880 --> 00:06:35,960 Speaker 1: to develop the butt. But what seems to actually have 101 00:06:36,120 --> 00:06:40,600 Speaker 1: happened is that comb jellies do have butts, and the 102 00:06:41,080 --> 00:06:43,760 Speaker 1: evolutionary path of the butt is a little more complex, 103 00:06:43,800 --> 00:06:46,480 Speaker 1: where they maybe gained a butt and then like later on, 104 00:06:46,760 --> 00:06:49,000 Speaker 1: some some later animals seem to have lost it, like 105 00:06:49,080 --> 00:06:52,600 Speaker 1: I'm talking about other marine invertebrates. So so there is 106 00:06:52,680 --> 00:06:56,440 Speaker 1: a more circuitous path in terms of the evolution of 107 00:06:56,520 --> 00:06:59,440 Speaker 1: the butt than we used to think, and that paradigm 108 00:06:59,520 --> 00:07:02,840 Speaker 1: the butt haroadign was completely changed by this knowledge that 109 00:07:03,000 --> 00:07:09,000 Speaker 1: comb jellies actually do have butts. That's a serious Joe 110 00:07:09,640 --> 00:07:14,040 Speaker 1: think to laugh about. It's serious because because you know, 111 00:07:14,320 --> 00:07:16,080 Speaker 1: I'm thinking about it on a human and like could 112 00:07:16,080 --> 00:07:18,920 Speaker 1: have but be on your hand or on your head 113 00:07:19,920 --> 00:07:24,040 Speaker 1: chest but side, but it could have. Yeah, it's you know, 114 00:07:24,400 --> 00:07:27,840 Speaker 1: the fact that we've got a butt on the butt end. Uh, 115 00:07:28,000 --> 00:07:30,200 Speaker 1: it's probably not a coincidence. It has a lot to 116 00:07:30,320 --> 00:07:33,320 Speaker 1: do how we start out as this kind of like 117 00:07:33,520 --> 00:07:38,640 Speaker 1: little like basically a donut and grow from that. You know. 118 00:07:39,040 --> 00:07:42,440 Speaker 1: It's it's really interesting how they actually discovered that comb 119 00:07:42,600 --> 00:07:46,080 Speaker 1: jellies do have a butt, because again, the conventional wisdom 120 00:07:46,160 --> 00:07:48,160 Speaker 1: used to be that they did not have an anus, 121 00:07:48,240 --> 00:07:50,320 Speaker 1: that they only had a mouth and they'd eat food 122 00:07:50,360 --> 00:07:55,080 Speaker 1: and basically poop out of their mouths. But I know, gross, 123 00:07:55,680 --> 00:08:01,400 Speaker 1: but more recent researchers found that was probably not true. 124 00:08:01,960 --> 00:08:04,720 Speaker 1: And in fact, it seemed to be that the pastor 125 00:08:04,800 --> 00:08:07,600 Speaker 1: researchers who thought that they like pooped out of their mouth, 126 00:08:07,720 --> 00:08:10,560 Speaker 1: they're actually just kind of throwing up their food because 127 00:08:10,920 --> 00:08:14,400 Speaker 1: these researchers were not feeding them properly, so they would 128 00:08:14,440 --> 00:08:17,760 Speaker 1: feed them improperly and these poor little comb jellies couldn't 129 00:08:17,760 --> 00:08:20,320 Speaker 1: eat the food, so they'd regurgitate it. But when fed 130 00:08:20,480 --> 00:08:24,440 Speaker 1: properly on the right diet of little tiny baby fish, 131 00:08:24,840 --> 00:08:28,320 Speaker 1: these comb jellies were able to eat and poop. And 132 00:08:28,600 --> 00:08:33,079 Speaker 1: for these researchers to demonstrate this very clearly on video. 133 00:08:33,480 --> 00:08:37,920 Speaker 1: But they did is they fed the comb jellyfish genetically 134 00:08:38,040 --> 00:08:43,240 Speaker 1: modified fish fry so baby larval fish that glowed red. 135 00:08:43,840 --> 00:08:49,719 Speaker 1: So have you ever seen glow fish in a pet store? Yeah, 136 00:08:49,840 --> 00:08:52,319 Speaker 1: like a like a pet smart or something. They're like 137 00:08:52,400 --> 00:08:55,920 Speaker 1: they look like highlighter markles and fish had a baby 138 00:08:56,559 --> 00:08:59,959 Speaker 1: and they're these glowing fish, and people have this constant 139 00:09:00,040 --> 00:09:02,600 Speaker 1: up that that they like inject them with die or something, 140 00:09:02,679 --> 00:09:05,920 Speaker 1: and that's not the case. They actually are genetically modified 141 00:09:06,080 --> 00:09:10,960 Speaker 1: to have this glowing hue. So they have these genetically 142 00:09:11,080 --> 00:09:14,319 Speaker 1: modified fish, and comb jellies will eat small fish, so 143 00:09:14,720 --> 00:09:18,920 Speaker 1: so like larval fish and the comb jellies is diet 144 00:09:18,960 --> 00:09:23,439 Speaker 1: of these glowing red fish. Therefore the comb jelly poop 145 00:09:23,640 --> 00:09:27,599 Speaker 1: would be glowing red. So they could show clearly on 146 00:09:27,920 --> 00:09:32,000 Speaker 1: video them eating the little larval fish, the tiny fish, 147 00:09:32,040 --> 00:09:35,720 Speaker 1: and seeing the fish scales go through the digestive tract 148 00:09:36,080 --> 00:09:38,520 Speaker 1: on the comb jelly and then come out there butt 149 00:09:39,120 --> 00:09:42,520 Speaker 1: all on camera, all in its glowing red glory. The 150 00:09:42,640 --> 00:09:47,160 Speaker 1: thing scientists the animals through. Why are you filming this 151 00:09:47,320 --> 00:09:51,920 Speaker 1: animal pooping that definitely crosses a line. I feel like 152 00:09:52,360 --> 00:09:56,239 Speaker 1: on the list of priorities for comb jellyfish, it's privacy 153 00:09:56,480 --> 00:10:02,040 Speaker 1: is probably pretty low. I'm loving these glow fishes like 154 00:10:02,080 --> 00:10:05,439 Speaker 1: a creola cran box came to life, but like I 155 00:10:05,600 --> 00:10:09,000 Speaker 1: love a fish. I was looking at glowfish teches and 156 00:10:09,080 --> 00:10:13,040 Speaker 1: they have cool color names for all the electric green, sunburst, orange, 157 00:10:13,240 --> 00:10:17,599 Speaker 1: cosmic blue, moon rise, pink, and galactic purple is obviously 158 00:10:17,840 --> 00:10:24,360 Speaker 1: my favorite marvelous mom Just like lipstick colors, Yes, start 159 00:10:24,360 --> 00:10:27,520 Speaker 1: fire red. It always feels like they're going to run 160 00:10:27,600 --> 00:10:30,000 Speaker 1: out of creativity when it, in fact, I feel like 161 00:10:30,040 --> 00:10:32,920 Speaker 1: they're already there. It's they just really are grasping at 162 00:10:32,920 --> 00:10:35,360 Speaker 1: straws when they're trying to name various shades of red 163 00:10:35,600 --> 00:10:41,600 Speaker 1: with lipstick, like cherubic cherry and you know, oh god, um. 164 00:10:42,640 --> 00:10:46,679 Speaker 1: Sometimes they ridiculous red, flaming hot, anything that has to 165 00:10:46,720 --> 00:10:50,880 Speaker 1: be with flames, any fire they've done. My favorite red 166 00:10:51,280 --> 00:10:55,840 Speaker 1: in nail polish colors opis waitress red. It is so good. 167 00:10:55,920 --> 00:10:57,800 Speaker 1: If you think about like a nineteen four these waitress 168 00:10:57,880 --> 00:11:01,560 Speaker 1: who had red painted nails, it's exactly color, just bold 169 00:11:01,720 --> 00:11:05,640 Speaker 1: and fun funky. I think I am wearing the color 170 00:11:05,760 --> 00:11:15,880 Speaker 1: red of digested glowfish red from from Perfect. So this 171 00:11:16,200 --> 00:11:18,960 Speaker 1: was great reason. It's it's always amazing to me when 172 00:11:19,040 --> 00:11:21,760 Speaker 1: researchers come up with an idea of you know what, 173 00:11:22,320 --> 00:11:24,240 Speaker 1: we can't it's hard to see their poops, so let's 174 00:11:24,280 --> 00:11:27,400 Speaker 1: just make it glow, which will actually bring up again 175 00:11:27,559 --> 00:11:29,400 Speaker 1: later on in the show when we have our interview 176 00:11:29,480 --> 00:11:33,319 Speaker 1: with Dr Medain, But before that, I do want to 177 00:11:33,400 --> 00:11:39,439 Speaker 1: talk about zoos and the struggles that zookeepers have with 178 00:11:39,880 --> 00:11:44,559 Speaker 1: taking care of animals health, which is sometimes more complicated 179 00:11:44,640 --> 00:11:48,400 Speaker 1: than you would initially think because one thing they have 180 00:11:48,600 --> 00:11:52,079 Speaker 1: to do is they have to keep track of animal 181 00:11:52,200 --> 00:11:56,280 Speaker 1: poop to see like the animals health. And I don't 182 00:11:56,280 --> 00:11:59,839 Speaker 1: want to be a zookeeper anymore, thank you. I would not, 183 00:12:00,040 --> 00:12:03,640 Speaker 1: like I stopped wanting to be a zookeeper as a 184 00:12:03,760 --> 00:12:07,559 Speaker 1: kid when I heard about what penguin poop smelled like, 185 00:12:07,640 --> 00:12:10,360 Speaker 1: because I love the idea of being a zookeeper and 186 00:12:10,480 --> 00:12:15,679 Speaker 1: being with the penguins. But it smells like decomposing fish, 187 00:12:15,800 --> 00:12:20,439 Speaker 1: because that's that's what it is. And it's just I 188 00:12:20,520 --> 00:12:24,200 Speaker 1: already I can't honestly, like, I can't even smell tuna, 189 00:12:24,320 --> 00:12:27,880 Speaker 1: Like can't tuna. I can't smell without like passing out 190 00:12:28,040 --> 00:12:30,520 Speaker 1: like that fishy smells too strong for me. And then 191 00:12:30,559 --> 00:12:32,959 Speaker 1: it's like, oh, if I my my dream job of 192 00:12:33,040 --> 00:12:35,599 Speaker 1: like taking care of penguins, but I would constantly be 193 00:12:35,760 --> 00:12:39,520 Speaker 1: vomiting because of the penguin poop smell, I can't do it. 194 00:12:39,720 --> 00:12:42,480 Speaker 1: I'm sorry, I'll have to appreciate the penguins from Afar, 195 00:12:43,200 --> 00:12:47,720 Speaker 1: but yeah, so poop is very important diagnostic tools for zoos, 196 00:12:48,400 --> 00:12:51,679 Speaker 1: and they will test poop for hormone levels to keep 197 00:12:51,720 --> 00:12:54,320 Speaker 1: track of things like whether an animal is pregnant, whether 198 00:12:54,400 --> 00:12:57,160 Speaker 1: the animal has hit puberty, if it's healthy, if it's 199 00:12:57,200 --> 00:13:00,520 Speaker 1: got a normal hormone levels. But the problem is you 200 00:13:00,679 --> 00:13:04,160 Speaker 1: can't tell one turd from another, like when you when 201 00:13:04,200 --> 00:13:06,440 Speaker 1: you do it, it doesn't come with like a name 202 00:13:06,520 --> 00:13:10,880 Speaker 1: tag like poop this poop courtesy of Katie or whatever 203 00:13:11,679 --> 00:13:14,440 Speaker 1: for example. So if you like want to track say 204 00:13:14,520 --> 00:13:17,719 Speaker 1: like Percy the Polar Bears poop, uh, you don't know 205 00:13:17,960 --> 00:13:20,439 Speaker 1: if it's Percy the polar Bear poop or Penny the 206 00:13:20,480 --> 00:13:23,360 Speaker 1: Polar Bear poop. Who knows who's poop it is? So 207 00:13:24,040 --> 00:13:26,080 Speaker 1: unless you happen to like catch them in the act 208 00:13:26,120 --> 00:13:28,160 Speaker 1: of pooping and then run in and grab the poop. 209 00:13:28,240 --> 00:13:31,719 Speaker 1: But I think there are a lot of protocols. You 210 00:13:31,760 --> 00:13:34,240 Speaker 1: can't just like jump in the polar bear pin right 211 00:13:34,320 --> 00:13:38,360 Speaker 1: after it's done a duty. So it's a lot better 212 00:13:38,440 --> 00:13:41,079 Speaker 1: if you can just wait until they're done pooping and 213 00:13:41,160 --> 00:13:44,199 Speaker 1: then go in when you know when it's safe and 214 00:13:44,240 --> 00:13:46,719 Speaker 1: then grab their poop. But how do you tell the 215 00:13:46,760 --> 00:13:54,559 Speaker 1: poop apart? Joel, you make it, You make it glitter. Yea, yea, 216 00:13:55,920 --> 00:14:01,640 Speaker 1: I love glitter. So to tell the mystery pooper is 217 00:14:02,000 --> 00:14:05,200 Speaker 1: in a zoo, they will give the animal they want 218 00:14:05,280 --> 00:14:09,480 Speaker 1: to track a diet of their normal food with edible glitter. 219 00:14:09,960 --> 00:14:14,800 Speaker 1: Sometimes they use bright, colorful beads. Sometimes they use food coloring. 220 00:14:15,280 --> 00:14:18,000 Speaker 1: These are additives to the food that are harmless, just 221 00:14:18,120 --> 00:14:21,320 Speaker 1: get passed through the digestive system, but it will make 222 00:14:21,360 --> 00:14:25,520 Speaker 1: their poop colorful, sparkle and glittery and easy to spot. 223 00:14:26,160 --> 00:14:30,640 Speaker 1: So they the additive depends on the texture of the food, 224 00:14:30,680 --> 00:14:34,000 Speaker 1: so they'll use food coloring for like wet food. They 225 00:14:34,080 --> 00:14:37,320 Speaker 1: may use beads that they put into like meat, but 226 00:14:37,480 --> 00:14:41,840 Speaker 1: glitter is a really popular one because it's texture. It 227 00:14:41,920 --> 00:14:44,840 Speaker 1: doesn't really change the texture of the food. The animal 228 00:14:44,960 --> 00:14:47,560 Speaker 1: will still want to eat it. So they feed a 229 00:14:47,640 --> 00:14:50,400 Speaker 1: specific animal like a slab of meat that's got some 230 00:14:50,520 --> 00:14:52,680 Speaker 1: glitter in it, and then when they poop it out, 231 00:14:52,840 --> 00:14:55,960 Speaker 1: it's glittery poop, and then they know who'se poop that is. 232 00:14:56,680 --> 00:15:00,080 Speaker 1: I love it. I like the idea of thinking. But 233 00:15:00,200 --> 00:15:03,520 Speaker 1: he's like, oh, oh the blue glitter, great, great leo, 234 00:15:03,680 --> 00:15:07,720 Speaker 1: it's doing good. Next, Oh my gosh. And you know 235 00:15:07,880 --> 00:15:10,760 Speaker 1: somebody who has eaten plenty of glitter, both before it 236 00:15:10,840 --> 00:15:13,160 Speaker 1: was supposed to be and after they started adding it 237 00:15:13,200 --> 00:15:15,680 Speaker 1: onto like cupcakes and things. I agree that it does 238 00:15:15,760 --> 00:15:17,960 Speaker 1: not too much change the texture of your food and 239 00:15:18,280 --> 00:15:21,320 Speaker 1: is still delicious. Joel, I have to ask you, why 240 00:15:21,600 --> 00:15:24,160 Speaker 1: why would you eat glitter? Because I have three and 241 00:15:24,320 --> 00:15:27,400 Speaker 1: I wanted to sparkle on the inside and the outside. 242 00:15:28,120 --> 00:15:33,320 Speaker 1: Didn't make your poops glittering? Don't remember, but I'm sure 243 00:15:33,400 --> 00:15:37,520 Speaker 1: that it did. You ask my mom now, like when 244 00:15:37,560 --> 00:15:40,880 Speaker 1: you were wiping my butt, Uh, you have any ate sparkle? 245 00:15:43,200 --> 00:15:46,720 Speaker 1: I remember eating a crayon when I was a kid, 246 00:15:46,960 --> 00:15:50,320 Speaker 1: and you know, they basically just come out. Yeah, you know, 247 00:15:50,760 --> 00:15:53,160 Speaker 1: on the other end, they're wasty and they just slapped 248 00:15:53,360 --> 00:15:55,800 Speaker 1: right out and it will be the color of the 249 00:15:55,840 --> 00:16:01,080 Speaker 1: cranny eat. So, children, that's not an invitation. You you know, 250 00:16:01,320 --> 00:16:05,680 Speaker 1: had to know that, and or and or adults listening 251 00:16:05,720 --> 00:16:08,000 Speaker 1: to this show don't. This is not an invitation to 252 00:16:08,080 --> 00:16:11,600 Speaker 1: eat glitter and crams. I'm not your mom, I can't 253 00:16:11,640 --> 00:16:14,880 Speaker 1: tell you what to do. But legally speaking, this is 254 00:16:14,920 --> 00:16:20,120 Speaker 1: not an invitation to glitter and crams. Just oh, you know, 255 00:16:20,800 --> 00:16:24,040 Speaker 1: some kid is gonna start pooping out some glitter and say, 256 00:16:24,120 --> 00:16:28,640 Speaker 1: like I learned it from Creature feature. Listen, you did 257 00:16:28,840 --> 00:16:32,440 Speaker 1: learn it here, but you also got a hefty dose 258 00:16:32,520 --> 00:16:36,680 Speaker 1: of knowledge that you should not yet that you were warned. 259 00:16:37,080 --> 00:16:39,880 Speaker 1: Although I mean not saying again not to say you 260 00:16:39,920 --> 00:16:41,840 Speaker 1: should do this. I think it does kind of just 261 00:16:41,960 --> 00:16:45,160 Speaker 1: pass through pretty harmlessly. I think you'd have to. I 262 00:16:45,240 --> 00:16:46,840 Speaker 1: think you'd have to eat a lot of Like I 263 00:16:46,920 --> 00:16:49,240 Speaker 1: could imagine if you ate like a lot of glitter, 264 00:16:49,360 --> 00:16:54,280 Speaker 1: it could form an impaction. Ina. No, no, I'm not 265 00:16:54,600 --> 00:16:57,880 Speaker 1: saying you should. I'm just saying I wonder how much 266 00:16:57,920 --> 00:17:02,560 Speaker 1: glitter it would take to create a medical crisis. I'm 267 00:17:02,600 --> 00:17:05,600 Speaker 1: gonna say probably like at least a cup, like on 268 00:17:05,680 --> 00:17:08,600 Speaker 1: those tiny bodies, you know, if you're like five pounds, 269 00:17:08,880 --> 00:17:11,640 Speaker 1: like a four or five year old eat a full 270 00:17:11,840 --> 00:17:15,159 Speaker 1: cup of glitter, that, yeah, that's not good. New parents 271 00:17:15,240 --> 00:17:17,840 Speaker 1: might need to step in, would be it would be 272 00:17:17,920 --> 00:17:21,040 Speaker 1: a fun surgery though, right like you you kind of 273 00:17:21,119 --> 00:17:24,760 Speaker 1: like get in there. It's like surprise glitter. But don't 274 00:17:24,760 --> 00:17:27,320 Speaker 1: eat glitter, guys, unless you're a polar bear at the zoo, 275 00:17:27,359 --> 00:17:30,240 Speaker 1: in which please do eat glitter because zookeepers need that 276 00:17:30,720 --> 00:17:33,640 Speaker 1: to see if you're pregnant to eat what's being fed 277 00:17:33,720 --> 00:17:36,720 Speaker 1: to you animals. Okay, those zookeepers take care. They love 278 00:17:36,800 --> 00:17:40,280 Speaker 1: you and they just want you to be well. My 279 00:17:40,560 --> 00:17:44,520 Speaker 1: dog eight I think a cupcake rapper once and it 280 00:17:45,040 --> 00:17:48,040 Speaker 1: just came out on the other end like it was 281 00:17:48,160 --> 00:17:52,160 Speaker 1: as if she was presenting to me her turd as 282 00:17:52,200 --> 00:17:54,920 Speaker 1: a cupcake, like here you go, fresh from the butt. 283 00:17:58,200 --> 00:18:01,160 Speaker 1: I sorry, I got gris out by fresh from the book. 284 00:18:02,720 --> 00:18:05,879 Speaker 1: I got I got stopped immediately as like, and I 285 00:18:05,960 --> 00:18:08,000 Speaker 1: just pictured dairy queen and it was a mess. It's 286 00:18:10,480 --> 00:18:13,600 Speaker 1: thank you. I apologize for that image, but there it is. 287 00:18:13,920 --> 00:18:19,960 Speaker 1: I can't take it back. Now. That was funny. Well, 288 00:18:20,040 --> 00:18:22,440 Speaker 1: we're going to take a quick break, but when we 289 00:18:22,640 --> 00:18:26,359 Speaker 1: get back, I will be joined by Dr Rodrigo Medeen, 290 00:18:26,840 --> 00:18:31,320 Speaker 1: who is a bat ecologist and known as the Batman 291 00:18:31,440 --> 00:18:35,520 Speaker 1: of Mexico, and he has some very interesting bat facts 292 00:18:36,000 --> 00:18:39,600 Speaker 1: as well as a story about glowing bat poops. The 293 00:18:39,760 --> 00:18:49,240 Speaker 1: stay tuned for that. So I have the honor to 294 00:18:49,520 --> 00:18:52,560 Speaker 1: interview someone who is known as the real life Batman 295 00:18:52,680 --> 00:18:56,520 Speaker 1: of Mexico. He's a professor of ecology and conservation at 296 00:18:56,560 --> 00:19:00,680 Speaker 1: the Institute of Ecology at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. 297 00:19:01,240 --> 00:19:04,760 Speaker 1: He has been tracking the migration of lesser long nose 298 00:19:04,840 --> 00:19:07,960 Speaker 1: bats in order to help conserve the species and save 299 00:19:08,040 --> 00:19:11,200 Speaker 1: them from endangerment. But in order to do so, he's 300 00:19:11,240 --> 00:19:15,359 Speaker 1: employed an incredibly innovated method of tracking their movements, and 301 00:19:15,760 --> 00:19:20,240 Speaker 1: it involves seemingly magical poop that glows. You can see 302 00:19:20,320 --> 00:19:23,960 Speaker 1: him in action on PBS's Nature The Batman of Mexico. 303 00:19:24,480 --> 00:19:29,600 Speaker 1: Welcome to the show, Dr Rodrigo Medine, Katie. Thank you 304 00:19:29,840 --> 00:19:32,560 Speaker 1: so much for having me. It's a pleasure to be 305 00:19:32,680 --> 00:19:35,840 Speaker 1: talking to you today. Thank you so much for joining us. 306 00:19:35,960 --> 00:19:39,160 Speaker 1: I am as excited as if I am meeting a superhero, 307 00:19:39,440 --> 00:19:43,000 Speaker 1: the real life Batman. I love the work that you 308 00:19:43,080 --> 00:19:45,480 Speaker 1: do with bats. I'm a big fan of bats. I'm 309 00:19:45,560 --> 00:19:48,320 Speaker 1: sure most of my listeners are also big fans of bats. 310 00:19:48,720 --> 00:19:51,560 Speaker 1: But often, just in general, they kind of lose out 311 00:19:51,800 --> 00:19:55,359 Speaker 1: on the popularity contest when we're talking about animals, Like 312 00:19:55,440 --> 00:19:57,919 Speaker 1: there are a lot of cute animals that everyone loves, 313 00:19:58,160 --> 00:20:02,760 Speaker 1: a lot of larger species that are more gregarious, more popular, 314 00:20:02,920 --> 00:20:05,040 Speaker 1: but baths kind of tend to lose out a lot 315 00:20:05,080 --> 00:20:08,679 Speaker 1: of the time. So why are you so interested in bats? 316 00:20:08,760 --> 00:20:11,240 Speaker 1: And was there a moment that you fell in love 317 00:20:11,320 --> 00:20:14,440 Speaker 1: with bath. Well, yeah, I mean this is uh, this 318 00:20:14,640 --> 00:20:18,800 Speaker 1: is a case of unfairly treated animals. We know that 319 00:20:18,920 --> 00:20:22,440 Speaker 1: there's a lot of animals that have a negative public image, 320 00:20:22,520 --> 00:20:26,280 Speaker 1: from snakes, two spiders, to scorpions, to charge the bats. 321 00:20:27,400 --> 00:20:32,000 Speaker 1: None of those two more for your everyday well being 322 00:20:32,640 --> 00:20:36,640 Speaker 1: than bats. Bats are connected to your everyday life, from 323 00:20:36,760 --> 00:20:41,320 Speaker 1: whatever we eat, to whatever we wear in clothes, to 324 00:20:41,480 --> 00:20:47,320 Speaker 1: whatever we drink. So uh, that started in a very 325 00:20:47,440 --> 00:20:50,879 Speaker 1: early time in my life. When I was thirteen, the 326 00:20:50,960 --> 00:20:54,200 Speaker 1: first bat came into my hands, and I really saw 327 00:20:54,480 --> 00:20:58,400 Speaker 1: that this was the underdog, the real underdog, in which 328 00:20:58,480 --> 00:21:01,440 Speaker 1: they take all of the things that people can think 329 00:21:01,520 --> 00:21:04,960 Speaker 1: of and they apply them to baths. Bas have a 330 00:21:05,840 --> 00:21:09,720 Speaker 1: false reputation of being the devil send voice, and to 331 00:21:09,880 --> 00:21:14,040 Speaker 1: being filthy and to convey all kinds of diseases to us. 332 00:21:14,400 --> 00:21:17,160 Speaker 1: None of that is true. So I've devoted my life 333 00:21:17,240 --> 00:21:21,600 Speaker 1: since then to to learning about baths, digging about their 334 00:21:21,680 --> 00:21:26,040 Speaker 1: natural history and showing the incredible services that they provide 335 00:21:26,040 --> 00:21:29,200 Speaker 1: two ecosystems and to us, and then connect to people 336 00:21:29,640 --> 00:21:33,959 Speaker 1: and explain to people that they really are good nocturnal friends. 337 00:21:34,800 --> 00:21:37,680 Speaker 1: Now you mentioned they're even connected to things like what 338 00:21:37,920 --> 00:21:40,840 Speaker 1: we drink and what we eat. How are bo involved 339 00:21:40,920 --> 00:21:46,160 Speaker 1: in that? Bats are the single most important best controllers 340 00:21:46,440 --> 00:21:52,640 Speaker 1: of any agricultural crop, from corn to cotton, two chili peppers. 341 00:21:53,119 --> 00:21:57,640 Speaker 1: Everything that you eat is connected to baths because bats 342 00:21:57,880 --> 00:22:03,159 Speaker 1: consumed between ten and thirty percent of the best that 343 00:22:03,280 --> 00:22:06,159 Speaker 1: are going to affect your crop. But that is that, 344 00:22:06,400 --> 00:22:09,840 Speaker 1: that doesn't stop there. If you like drinking tea, if 345 00:22:09,880 --> 00:22:14,280 Speaker 1: you like drinking coffee, bats are also the controllers of 346 00:22:14,400 --> 00:22:17,400 Speaker 1: the of the most important pests of tea and coffee. 347 00:22:18,040 --> 00:22:22,399 Speaker 1: And furthermore, what would I say as a Mexican you, 348 00:22:22,560 --> 00:22:26,919 Speaker 1: I'm very proud of my heritage, and we have tequila 349 00:22:27,000 --> 00:22:30,320 Speaker 1: and mescal that are going through a boom all over 350 00:22:30,400 --> 00:22:33,760 Speaker 1: the world. But we have them because bats are the 351 00:22:34,040 --> 00:22:39,320 Speaker 1: key essential pollinators of a gas, the plant that is 352 00:22:39,440 --> 00:22:42,760 Speaker 1: used to produce tequila and miska. Now, when people think 353 00:22:42,800 --> 00:22:46,320 Speaker 1: about bats, I don't think they think pollinator. We usually 354 00:22:46,400 --> 00:22:49,760 Speaker 1: think of bats as being maybe insectivores. A lot of 355 00:22:49,800 --> 00:22:53,120 Speaker 1: people think of vampire bats the the really the only 356 00:22:53,240 --> 00:22:57,359 Speaker 1: species that drink blood, but they're pretty popular in terms 357 00:22:57,400 --> 00:23:00,399 Speaker 1: of our general culture. But we don't think of bats 358 00:23:00,480 --> 00:23:03,520 Speaker 1: as being pollinators. We think of like bees or maybe 359 00:23:03,560 --> 00:23:07,440 Speaker 1: even other insects, but that bat doesn't come to mind. 360 00:23:07,480 --> 00:23:09,000 Speaker 1: In fact, I think a lot of people don't even 361 00:23:09,119 --> 00:23:12,639 Speaker 1: realize that some bats have a role in pollination. So 362 00:23:12,920 --> 00:23:15,760 Speaker 1: can you talk a little bit about that. What species 363 00:23:15,920 --> 00:23:18,560 Speaker 1: of bats are pollinators and how how do they do 364 00:23:18,680 --> 00:23:21,960 Speaker 1: this and how have they evolved to become pollinators? Sure, 365 00:23:22,160 --> 00:23:25,400 Speaker 1: I mean, there's an astounding number of species of baths 366 00:23:25,480 --> 00:23:28,480 Speaker 1: in the world. Most people don't have an idea that 367 00:23:28,600 --> 00:23:32,000 Speaker 1: there's more than fourteen hundred species of bats in the world. 368 00:23:32,800 --> 00:23:36,760 Speaker 1: Three out of every four of those bats feed on insects. 369 00:23:37,520 --> 00:23:40,080 Speaker 1: But then we have twelve percent of the bath that 370 00:23:40,240 --> 00:23:42,800 Speaker 1: feed on nectar and pollen, ten percent of the bath 371 00:23:42,880 --> 00:23:46,720 Speaker 1: that feed on fruits and dispersed the seeds of many 372 00:23:46,800 --> 00:23:50,879 Speaker 1: many plants, mostly tropical plants. In fact, we've demonstrated that 373 00:23:51,040 --> 00:23:55,719 Speaker 1: the tropical rainforests rely heavily on the bats dispersing their 374 00:23:55,800 --> 00:24:00,480 Speaker 1: seeds a lot more than any bird. And then there's 375 00:24:00,520 --> 00:24:05,080 Speaker 1: a few bats, maybe fifteen or so species that feed 376 00:24:05,160 --> 00:24:09,520 Speaker 1: on the flesh of other vertebrates, including little birds and 377 00:24:09,840 --> 00:24:13,199 Speaker 1: rodents and other bats. And out of the more than 378 00:24:13,280 --> 00:24:17,320 Speaker 1: four species, there's only three that feed on blood. And 379 00:24:17,480 --> 00:24:21,560 Speaker 1: because of these three, all the risk goes in uh, 380 00:24:22,119 --> 00:24:24,720 Speaker 1: and people think, oh, no, that animal is going to 381 00:24:24,800 --> 00:24:28,120 Speaker 1: suck about. Not absolutely not true, not true at all. 382 00:24:28,560 --> 00:24:32,760 Speaker 1: That's what's always been both interesting a little frustrating to 383 00:24:32,920 --> 00:24:36,600 Speaker 1: me is that there are so many species of bats, 384 00:24:36,840 --> 00:24:40,600 Speaker 1: and most of them aren't blood drinkers. But we have 385 00:24:40,960 --> 00:24:43,840 Speaker 1: just this one image of bats that people think of 386 00:24:44,040 --> 00:24:47,120 Speaker 1: like little bats with dangerous little teeth that are gonna 387 00:24:47,160 --> 00:24:50,199 Speaker 1: bite you, which isn't even true of most vampire bats. 388 00:24:51,040 --> 00:24:53,120 Speaker 1: They are not even They don't even kill their prey, 389 00:24:53,160 --> 00:24:55,600 Speaker 1: they don't suck them dry. They just lick at a 390 00:24:55,680 --> 00:24:59,920 Speaker 1: little wound. They're they're pretty harmless to well, completely hard 391 00:25:00,040 --> 00:25:03,720 Speaker 1: less of humans, really, But we don't have the sense 392 00:25:03,800 --> 00:25:08,160 Speaker 1: then of how incredibly diverse bats are. And I want 393 00:25:08,200 --> 00:25:11,440 Speaker 1: to talk a little bit about the lesser long nose 394 00:25:11,520 --> 00:25:15,920 Speaker 1: bats because I think they defy the popular conception of 395 00:25:16,000 --> 00:25:19,000 Speaker 1: what a bat looks like. I think they're adorable. I 396 00:25:19,160 --> 00:25:22,440 Speaker 1: love how they look because they have this long muzzle, 397 00:25:23,040 --> 00:25:26,720 Speaker 1: which makes them, in my mind, particularly cute. They have 398 00:25:26,960 --> 00:25:29,960 Speaker 1: very cute little faces. But can you describe, like why 399 00:25:30,040 --> 00:25:33,120 Speaker 1: do they have that long muzzle, which kind of goes 400 00:25:33,200 --> 00:25:36,440 Speaker 1: against what you would think about would look like, sure, 401 00:25:36,680 --> 00:25:39,200 Speaker 1: I mean the lesser long knows but and the Mexican 402 00:25:39,320 --> 00:25:42,119 Speaker 1: long knows bats are two bats in the in the 403 00:25:42,200 --> 00:25:48,320 Speaker 1: genus Leptononicities that are very very cute. That is the word, katie. 404 00:25:48,960 --> 00:25:51,639 Speaker 1: They are cute, and I don't I don't use the 405 00:25:51,720 --> 00:25:56,240 Speaker 1: word likely they will win over anybody who sees a 406 00:25:56,359 --> 00:26:00,199 Speaker 1: lesser aloness, but are going to be immediately won over. Uh. 407 00:26:00,640 --> 00:26:04,240 Speaker 1: You know, most wild animals, regardless of it being an 408 00:26:04,320 --> 00:26:07,200 Speaker 1: apostum or a raccoon or a snake or a bat, 409 00:26:07,840 --> 00:26:10,159 Speaker 1: if you handle them, they are going to bite you. 410 00:26:10,640 --> 00:26:13,920 Speaker 1: They're going to try to descend themselves, right. Well, not 411 00:26:14,119 --> 00:26:17,200 Speaker 1: the case with a lesser loan. You handle them, and 412 00:26:17,280 --> 00:26:22,600 Speaker 1: they're so sweet, they're so incredibly tame. They have such 413 00:26:22,720 --> 00:26:26,160 Speaker 1: well good temper that you can handle them, of course 414 00:26:26,240 --> 00:26:30,640 Speaker 1: with care, et cetera. But you can see that all 415 00:26:30,720 --> 00:26:33,400 Speaker 1: the interest that it is going to their to their 416 00:26:34,119 --> 00:26:37,359 Speaker 1: flowers and feeding on the neckar and being covered with pollen, 417 00:26:37,520 --> 00:26:41,159 Speaker 1: that's what they want to do. So they do have 418 00:26:41,760 --> 00:26:44,240 Speaker 1: there about an ounce less than an ounce of a 419 00:26:44,359 --> 00:26:49,240 Speaker 1: bat um, so it's less than a foot from wind 420 00:26:49,240 --> 00:26:52,080 Speaker 1: tip to wing tip, and then they have that long 421 00:26:52,160 --> 00:26:55,480 Speaker 1: snout with a little what we call a nose leaf 422 00:26:55,600 --> 00:27:00,760 Speaker 1: at the tip. That loan snout is needed support the 423 00:27:01,119 --> 00:27:05,920 Speaker 1: very long tongue that they extend into the flowers that 424 00:27:06,040 --> 00:27:10,320 Speaker 1: they visit. And then their tongue at the tip has 425 00:27:10,400 --> 00:27:15,359 Speaker 1: a little bristle. Their popili have become little hairs, so 426 00:27:15,560 --> 00:27:19,600 Speaker 1: they they scratched the end of the bottom of the 427 00:27:19,760 --> 00:27:22,760 Speaker 1: of the flower to extract all of the neckar there, 428 00:27:23,160 --> 00:27:26,960 Speaker 1: and they're very effective. Think of mopping the end of 429 00:27:27,040 --> 00:27:29,680 Speaker 1: the flower. And they're mopping the flower like that, and 430 00:27:30,000 --> 00:27:33,840 Speaker 1: and and and using the negtar. And agave is have 431 00:27:34,280 --> 00:27:38,560 Speaker 1: actually learned to use bats for their for their benefit. 432 00:27:38,920 --> 00:27:43,320 Speaker 1: In fact, i gaves have enslaved the bats to to 433 00:27:43,640 --> 00:27:47,960 Speaker 1: to do the service that the gas need. Twelve million 434 00:27:48,080 --> 00:27:53,119 Speaker 1: years ago they started go evolving. Now evolutionarily, agaves have 435 00:27:53,400 --> 00:27:57,280 Speaker 1: learned that if they produce necktar that is a little 436 00:27:57,520 --> 00:28:01,840 Speaker 1: below the concentration that the neat, the bats are going 437 00:28:01,920 --> 00:28:03,760 Speaker 1: to come back and come back and come back and 438 00:28:03,880 --> 00:28:06,320 Speaker 1: come back and come back. And the more they come back, 439 00:28:06,440 --> 00:28:08,960 Speaker 1: the more pollen that they're going to take away. So 440 00:28:09,520 --> 00:28:13,639 Speaker 1: it's actually the aga is feeding them very little so 441 00:28:13,760 --> 00:28:16,720 Speaker 1: that they keep them trapped in slate and coming back 442 00:28:16,800 --> 00:28:19,679 Speaker 1: all the time. It's like a slot machine for bats. 443 00:28:21,200 --> 00:28:26,280 Speaker 1: Very addictive, exactly. I love that, and I love these pictures. 444 00:28:26,400 --> 00:28:28,720 Speaker 1: I actually think one of the pictures I've used on 445 00:28:28,840 --> 00:28:31,920 Speaker 1: the show before has been taken by you. It's these 446 00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:36,120 Speaker 1: bats just completely covered in pollen. They look they look 447 00:28:36,320 --> 00:28:40,120 Speaker 1: yellow because they've become so covered in pollen. But they've 448 00:28:40,160 --> 00:28:44,520 Speaker 1: been essentially tricked, or maybe it's it is somewhat beneficial 449 00:28:44,600 --> 00:28:46,600 Speaker 1: to the bats as well to get that nectar, but 450 00:28:46,720 --> 00:28:51,040 Speaker 1: they have been tricked into doing the reproductive duties for 451 00:28:51,280 --> 00:28:55,240 Speaker 1: the flowers. And you mentioned that that agavies have co 452 00:28:55,480 --> 00:28:58,600 Speaker 1: evolved with bats. How dependent are the plants on the bats? 453 00:28:59,560 --> 00:29:06,200 Speaker 1: Is how of have turned into slaves two bats? Because 454 00:29:06,280 --> 00:29:11,680 Speaker 1: basically what of evolutionarily? Again, what they've done now is 455 00:29:11,760 --> 00:29:16,440 Speaker 1: that their flowers open at night number one, and then 456 00:29:17,000 --> 00:29:21,920 Speaker 1: the little answers the bags where the pollen is opened 457 00:29:22,000 --> 00:29:25,880 Speaker 1: half an hour later. Then people people are gonna say 458 00:29:26,000 --> 00:29:29,400 Speaker 1: when you hear when they hear your show, they're going 459 00:29:29,440 --> 00:29:31,440 Speaker 1: to say, no, no, no, that's not true. I have 460 00:29:31,680 --> 00:29:34,920 Speaker 1: seen bees and hummingbirds and all kinds of other things 461 00:29:35,280 --> 00:29:39,320 Speaker 1: around the gaby flowers. Yes, they are there in the morning. 462 00:29:39,520 --> 00:29:44,760 Speaker 1: Now the the gave pollen lives for about twelve hours, 463 00:29:45,360 --> 00:29:51,400 Speaker 1: so they open at say seven pm. By seven or 464 00:29:51,480 --> 00:29:55,200 Speaker 1: eight am, the pollen is dead. It doesn't matter if 465 00:29:55,520 --> 00:29:58,480 Speaker 1: if a bee comes back, if humming bird comes back 466 00:29:58,560 --> 00:30:01,120 Speaker 1: and discovered with pollens, a poll is dead and it's 467 00:30:01,200 --> 00:30:04,040 Speaker 1: not going to pollinate the other flower. So it's only 468 00:30:04,120 --> 00:30:09,680 Speaker 1: bats that can pollinate them. Uh. That has turned into 469 00:30:10,280 --> 00:30:14,080 Speaker 1: a really key element in the biology of these two things, 470 00:30:14,840 --> 00:30:18,160 Speaker 1: in that they co exist in space. Wherever you have 471 00:30:18,280 --> 00:30:20,600 Speaker 1: a garbage, you have nectar baths, and where you have 472 00:30:20,760 --> 00:30:23,680 Speaker 1: nectar baths, you have a gas. Always they're connected hand 473 00:30:23,720 --> 00:30:26,440 Speaker 1: in hand and they really rely on each other. So 474 00:30:26,600 --> 00:30:29,000 Speaker 1: if you take one out of the equation, the other 475 00:30:29,080 --> 00:30:32,160 Speaker 1: one is really going to suffer. Right It is going 476 00:30:32,240 --> 00:30:38,240 Speaker 1: to be a big, deep reaching effect. In fact, right 477 00:30:38,360 --> 00:30:42,120 Speaker 1: now we're working with the tequila and the mescal producers 478 00:30:42,640 --> 00:30:45,200 Speaker 1: to tell them that they need to allow a certain 479 00:30:45,280 --> 00:30:48,840 Speaker 1: amount of a gaves to flower for the benefit of 480 00:30:48,960 --> 00:30:52,240 Speaker 1: their own crop, for the benefit of the gaves. So 481 00:30:52,480 --> 00:30:56,760 Speaker 1: we're producing bad friendly tequila and bad friendly mescal. Which 482 00:30:56,840 --> 00:31:00,880 Speaker 1: these people are investing their own agave is because they 483 00:31:01,120 --> 00:31:03,760 Speaker 1: have realized that without bats they're not going to have 484 00:31:03,880 --> 00:31:07,640 Speaker 1: to killa for long Well, that's not good. So even 485 00:31:07,680 --> 00:31:09,960 Speaker 1: if you don't like bats, but if you like tequila, 486 00:31:10,440 --> 00:31:13,920 Speaker 1: you should care about the baths absolutely, although I can't 487 00:31:13,960 --> 00:31:17,640 Speaker 1: imagine not liking these, especially the lesser long nose baths 488 00:31:17,680 --> 00:31:22,040 Speaker 1: are so adorable. And you have been tracking the migration 489 00:31:22,120 --> 00:31:24,880 Speaker 1: of the lesser long nose bats and the amount of 490 00:31:24,960 --> 00:31:28,920 Speaker 1: distance that they travel. Why is it important to learn 491 00:31:29,120 --> 00:31:33,480 Speaker 1: like the distances that they travel. Since bats are nocturnal 492 00:31:33,800 --> 00:31:36,400 Speaker 1: and not like birds that you can see them during 493 00:31:36,440 --> 00:31:39,880 Speaker 1: the day. You can even put GPS units that have 494 00:31:40,200 --> 00:31:44,280 Speaker 1: little solar panels on them so that the batteries recharge 495 00:31:44,320 --> 00:31:47,360 Speaker 1: and recharge and you shared and they continue to transmit. 496 00:31:47,680 --> 00:31:50,360 Speaker 1: We cannot do that with the bats. So we know 497 00:31:50,520 --> 00:31:54,360 Speaker 1: a lot less about the migration of these bats. We 498 00:31:54,520 --> 00:31:58,000 Speaker 1: know that they migrate between twelve hundred and fifteen hundred 499 00:31:58,080 --> 00:32:01,440 Speaker 1: kilometers from central southern Mexico to northern Mexico on the 500 00:32:01,480 --> 00:32:04,280 Speaker 1: south of the US, but we don't know what are 501 00:32:04,360 --> 00:32:08,240 Speaker 1: the stepping stone caves where they stop, and we need 502 00:32:08,440 --> 00:32:12,440 Speaker 1: to make sure that those caves are also perfected. So 503 00:32:12,560 --> 00:32:16,240 Speaker 1: we've been using all kinds of different tricks and trinkets 504 00:32:16,320 --> 00:32:20,840 Speaker 1: and things to try to pursue these this information and 505 00:32:20,960 --> 00:32:24,040 Speaker 1: these bats along their way. Well, one of my favorite 506 00:32:24,080 --> 00:32:28,880 Speaker 1: tricks that you've used is making their poop glow, which 507 00:32:29,240 --> 00:32:31,720 Speaker 1: I absolutely love. We love to talk about poop on 508 00:32:31,800 --> 00:32:36,400 Speaker 1: this show because I like to destigmatize animal poop. I 509 00:32:36,520 --> 00:32:39,600 Speaker 1: think that it can teach us a lot about evolutionary 510 00:32:39,680 --> 00:32:42,080 Speaker 1: biology and if we can get past it like, oh, poop, 511 00:32:42,120 --> 00:32:45,400 Speaker 1: well that's kind of gross, it's actually really fascinating. And 512 00:32:45,960 --> 00:32:49,520 Speaker 1: I love what you've done in your research with bat poop. 513 00:32:49,560 --> 00:32:53,360 Speaker 1: Can you describe why, why the glowing bat poop? What's 514 00:32:53,400 --> 00:32:55,320 Speaker 1: going on there? Why have you done that? And how 515 00:32:55,960 --> 00:32:58,040 Speaker 1: you know? I was with my students from not a 516 00:32:58,120 --> 00:33:02,920 Speaker 1: Bar actually talking about how could we follow these baths 517 00:33:03,520 --> 00:33:06,600 Speaker 1: on one night and one night only, trying to understand 518 00:33:06,920 --> 00:33:10,320 Speaker 1: not necessarily in the context of their migration, but the 519 00:33:10,400 --> 00:33:13,600 Speaker 1: actual movements during the night. Remember that these are all 520 00:33:14,240 --> 00:33:18,040 Speaker 1: lap dating female females who have their babies in the cave, right. Well, 521 00:33:18,560 --> 00:33:24,920 Speaker 1: we we thought of using ultra violet fluorescent powder. It's 522 00:33:24,960 --> 00:33:28,240 Speaker 1: a really crazy thing, but we thought if we could 523 00:33:28,880 --> 00:33:33,400 Speaker 1: sprinkle the emerging baths with ultra violet urescent powder and 524 00:33:33,560 --> 00:33:37,920 Speaker 1: then capture them in the feeding grounds where the columnar 525 00:33:38,080 --> 00:33:41,600 Speaker 1: cacti are that are expecting the path to come and 526 00:33:41,880 --> 00:33:45,719 Speaker 1: show that they actually have that ultravolar fescent powder. We're 527 00:33:45,760 --> 00:33:47,960 Speaker 1: going to show that these these baths for coming from 528 00:33:48,040 --> 00:33:53,120 Speaker 1: this cave that are visiting those columnar cacti fifty kilometers away. 529 00:33:54,120 --> 00:33:57,840 Speaker 1: And then my students were stationed there at the at 530 00:33:57,880 --> 00:34:02,600 Speaker 1: the Sua field. They were capturing those bats and sprinkling 531 00:34:02,680 --> 00:34:06,360 Speaker 1: them with a different color ultra violet florescent powder. So 532 00:34:06,440 --> 00:34:09,160 Speaker 1: we were sprinkling and this is I'm sorry, my friends, 533 00:34:09,200 --> 00:34:12,600 Speaker 1: I'm going to disappoint you. This is very high tech 534 00:34:13,040 --> 00:34:16,480 Speaker 1: that is beyond any love in the world. And it's 535 00:34:16,560 --> 00:34:23,279 Speaker 1: called kitchen calendars. We use kitchen calendars to sprinkle the 536 00:34:23,400 --> 00:34:29,040 Speaker 1: emerging bats with yellow glowing fluorescent powder. And that was 537 00:34:29,200 --> 00:34:32,400 Speaker 1: thousands and thousands of bats that we were marking with that. 538 00:34:32,880 --> 00:34:35,840 Speaker 1: And then my students have fifty kilometers away with the 539 00:34:35,920 --> 00:34:39,239 Speaker 1: Colonna actor. They were capturing the bats and making sure 540 00:34:39,320 --> 00:34:43,239 Speaker 1: that they indeed have yellow glowing powder, and yes they did, 541 00:34:43,719 --> 00:34:46,680 Speaker 1: but we also needed the reverse We needed to show 542 00:34:46,719 --> 00:34:50,000 Speaker 1: the reverse movement. So I told them to put the bats, 543 00:34:50,080 --> 00:34:53,840 Speaker 1: the capture bats in a in a plastic bag, leaving 544 00:34:53,920 --> 00:34:57,680 Speaker 1: the head out just the body and smear the entire 545 00:34:57,760 --> 00:35:01,440 Speaker 1: body of the bat with blue glowing fluorescea powder and 546 00:35:01,520 --> 00:35:04,759 Speaker 1: then release them. And then the next evening, once the 547 00:35:04,800 --> 00:35:07,759 Speaker 1: bus are gone, I'm gonna go into the cave and 548 00:35:08,080 --> 00:35:12,280 Speaker 1: check with my UV light to see there's any blue 549 00:35:12,520 --> 00:35:17,320 Speaker 1: glowing poop, and Dad is going to give us the 550 00:35:17,640 --> 00:35:22,160 Speaker 1: hint that, in fact, these bats are going I'm back 551 00:35:22,480 --> 00:35:27,200 Speaker 1: and feeding while flying, and they're doing all of this 552 00:35:27,880 --> 00:35:31,840 Speaker 1: with fuel that is composed of sugar water. How do 553 00:35:31,960 --> 00:35:35,920 Speaker 1: they do it? Big open question? Yeah, that's so interesting. 554 00:35:36,320 --> 00:35:39,080 Speaker 1: I mean, so they're they're licking this powder off their 555 00:35:39,120 --> 00:35:42,360 Speaker 1: bodies and then pooping it out. It's completely harmless to 556 00:35:42,440 --> 00:35:45,480 Speaker 1: the bats, but then it gives you this very innovative 557 00:35:45,560 --> 00:35:49,200 Speaker 1: way to track. You know, see, well, this individual bat 558 00:35:49,320 --> 00:35:51,680 Speaker 1: that I know is gonna lick off this powder and 559 00:35:51,719 --> 00:35:54,359 Speaker 1: then digest it and then have going poop, and then 560 00:35:54,440 --> 00:35:57,719 Speaker 1: you can see where they've gone. It's really incredible. It's 561 00:35:57,719 --> 00:36:00,479 Speaker 1: actually very pretty. I saw the video of the owing poop. 562 00:36:00,560 --> 00:36:03,880 Speaker 1: It must feel like you're finding some kind of precious gemstone, 563 00:36:03,960 --> 00:36:07,960 Speaker 1: but it's but it's bat poop exactly. That wasn't feeling. 564 00:36:08,040 --> 00:36:10,680 Speaker 1: You should have seen me jumping up and down. When 565 00:36:10,760 --> 00:36:14,279 Speaker 1: we finally found blue glowing book inside the cave, it 566 00:36:14,440 --> 00:36:18,600 Speaker 1: was amazing, the biggest finding. Yeah, but that is that 567 00:36:18,760 --> 00:36:20,920 Speaker 1: is so interesting, such an interesting finding because I have 568 00:36:21,360 --> 00:36:23,399 Speaker 1: now I'm not a bad expert, but I have read 569 00:36:23,440 --> 00:36:27,360 Speaker 1: about how the way that bats had to evolve to 570 00:36:27,440 --> 00:36:30,800 Speaker 1: go from you know, they didn't start out as flying animals. 571 00:36:30,880 --> 00:36:33,239 Speaker 1: They were mammals that did not fly, and then they 572 00:36:33,280 --> 00:36:36,960 Speaker 1: had to evolve flights. So things like they're metabolism and 573 00:36:37,040 --> 00:36:39,960 Speaker 1: immune system had to go through some very radical changes 574 00:36:40,040 --> 00:36:43,640 Speaker 1: to allow the amount of energy that it takes for flights. 575 00:36:43,719 --> 00:36:46,279 Speaker 1: So to see that in action that they can run 576 00:36:46,960 --> 00:36:50,839 Speaker 1: on that, you know, just sugar water for so long, 577 00:36:51,080 --> 00:36:56,160 Speaker 1: is really incredible. It's amazing. It's really we need to 578 00:36:56,320 --> 00:36:59,920 Speaker 1: understand the physiology of these bats, because how can they bossing? 579 00:37:00,040 --> 00:37:05,320 Speaker 1: They travel fifty kometers one way, hunt kilometers round trip, 580 00:37:06,040 --> 00:37:09,080 Speaker 1: and and and then suckle their babies and all this 581 00:37:09,320 --> 00:37:12,000 Speaker 1: is on sugar water. So this of course helped us 582 00:37:12,080 --> 00:37:17,000 Speaker 1: understand that we can jack knife those fiftometers to one 583 00:37:17,440 --> 00:37:22,239 Speaker 1: kilometers linear movements, which is going to happen, Well, that's 584 00:37:22,280 --> 00:37:25,360 Speaker 1: what's going to happen when they migrating. They're going to 585 00:37:25,480 --> 00:37:29,120 Speaker 1: at least jump from one step into stone cave to 586 00:37:29,239 --> 00:37:31,960 Speaker 1: another one that is a hundred kilometers to the north, 587 00:37:32,080 --> 00:37:34,439 Speaker 1: and then another hundred kilometers and so on and so forth. 588 00:37:34,760 --> 00:37:39,920 Speaker 1: That narrows down our search for these stepping stone caves 589 00:37:40,000 --> 00:37:42,600 Speaker 1: and then protecting each and every one of those dates 590 00:37:46,160 --> 00:37:49,640 Speaker 1: you mentioned this is important for conservation. So what are 591 00:37:49,840 --> 00:37:53,719 Speaker 1: some of the threats that bats are facing now that 592 00:37:54,160 --> 00:37:58,320 Speaker 1: are important for us as humans to really address? The 593 00:37:58,520 --> 00:38:01,800 Speaker 1: main threat that is affecting the lesser known nons but 594 00:38:02,080 --> 00:38:06,400 Speaker 1: and the Mexican long nons but is disturbance at the roost, 595 00:38:07,400 --> 00:38:13,920 Speaker 1: intended and unintended, accidental or on purpose. People used to 596 00:38:14,080 --> 00:38:17,760 Speaker 1: go to these caves and and disturb them with noise, 597 00:38:17,920 --> 00:38:21,200 Speaker 1: with light, with movement. And you know that we were 598 00:38:21,280 --> 00:38:24,719 Speaker 1: the ones. We were part of the group that enlisted 599 00:38:24,800 --> 00:38:27,240 Speaker 1: this species in the Danger Species Act in the US 600 00:38:27,480 --> 00:38:29,759 Speaker 1: and in the Mexican Federal List of Endangered Species in 601 00:38:29,800 --> 00:38:32,920 Speaker 1: the eighties and nineties. And then we started working towards 602 00:38:32,960 --> 00:38:38,719 Speaker 1: the recovery, which included a big environmental education program that 603 00:38:39,200 --> 00:38:43,439 Speaker 1: helped win over the people who were living right next 604 00:38:43,520 --> 00:38:49,279 Speaker 1: to the biggest caves into partners, into into bad defenders 605 00:38:49,920 --> 00:38:54,080 Speaker 1: that turned into twenty years later into the recovery of 606 00:38:54,120 --> 00:38:58,320 Speaker 1: the species, and we in Mexico delisted this species in 607 00:38:58,480 --> 00:39:02,399 Speaker 1: two thousand and thirteen, which is a good, big, good 608 00:39:02,560 --> 00:39:05,960 Speaker 1: news that you know, the world needs good news in 609 00:39:06,040 --> 00:39:09,680 Speaker 1: conservation and in many other items. And then the US 610 00:39:09,800 --> 00:39:13,080 Speaker 1: delisted this species in two thousand and seventeen, so we're 611 00:39:13,080 --> 00:39:16,919 Speaker 1: not talking about a recovered species out of our recovery plan. 612 00:39:17,280 --> 00:39:20,160 Speaker 1: So we can do this, we can save many other 613 00:39:20,200 --> 00:39:23,200 Speaker 1: species in the world. I love stories like that because 614 00:39:23,239 --> 00:39:25,879 Speaker 1: I think often people get this sense that, oh, we're 615 00:39:25,960 --> 00:39:29,440 Speaker 1: just we're all doomed because we've already screwed up the planet. 616 00:39:29,560 --> 00:39:33,359 Speaker 1: We've already caused too many extinctions, there's no going back, 617 00:39:33,440 --> 00:39:36,880 Speaker 1: And that's absolutely not true. There's so many things we 618 00:39:37,000 --> 00:39:39,720 Speaker 1: can do. And I love the fact that you enlist 619 00:39:39,920 --> 00:39:44,200 Speaker 1: people who are living near these habitats in order to 620 00:39:44,400 --> 00:39:47,080 Speaker 1: help them actually preserve the species that they're neighbors with. 621 00:39:47,239 --> 00:39:50,000 Speaker 1: I think that's really interesting. You were telling me the 622 00:39:50,160 --> 00:39:54,919 Speaker 1: story about how you discovered some baths in a zoo 623 00:39:55,640 --> 00:39:58,040 Speaker 1: at local zoo where you would not expect to find 624 00:39:58,080 --> 00:40:00,080 Speaker 1: them in the zoo. Let you go in and do 625 00:40:00,480 --> 00:40:02,600 Speaker 1: some research on these baths. Can you talk a little 626 00:40:02,600 --> 00:40:05,759 Speaker 1: bit about that, but yes, we have in this lab. 627 00:40:05,920 --> 00:40:08,360 Speaker 1: We have a lot of interest in nectar feeding bats. 628 00:40:08,719 --> 00:40:11,600 Speaker 1: And there's a student of mine who's working at the zoo, 629 00:40:11,719 --> 00:40:15,120 Speaker 1: at the National Zoo in Mexico City, and he told me. 630 00:40:15,200 --> 00:40:18,080 Speaker 1: He texted me one day, well, there's there's all of 631 00:40:18,440 --> 00:40:22,680 Speaker 1: three columnar catti with flowers right now. I said, why 632 00:40:22,719 --> 00:40:24,799 Speaker 1: don't you set up a camera trap and see if 633 00:40:24,840 --> 00:40:27,960 Speaker 1: there's any bats visiting. Next morning he showed me the 634 00:40:28,040 --> 00:40:31,960 Speaker 1: pictures and yes, there's bats coming there that the cat 635 00:40:32,120 --> 00:40:36,759 Speaker 1: i are in the enclosure of the brown hyena. So 636 00:40:37,440 --> 00:40:39,560 Speaker 1: I had to talk to the to the director of 637 00:40:39,600 --> 00:40:41,879 Speaker 1: the zoo. I said, do you think you can put 638 00:40:42,000 --> 00:40:45,480 Speaker 1: your brown hyenas in the cage and then we can 639 00:40:45,560 --> 00:40:48,400 Speaker 1: get into the enclosure and set up business and catch 640 00:40:48,480 --> 00:40:51,640 Speaker 1: the bats there. And he did. Three days later we 641 00:40:51,760 --> 00:40:55,080 Speaker 1: were there with our business, smelling like hyena all over 642 00:40:55,160 --> 00:40:57,800 Speaker 1: the place. And then we set up the business and 643 00:40:57,920 --> 00:41:00,960 Speaker 1: we got a bunch of nectar eating bats in the 644 00:41:01,120 --> 00:41:04,160 Speaker 1: midst of Mexico City, in the center of one of 645 00:41:04,200 --> 00:41:08,280 Speaker 1: the biggest urban centers in the world. How on earth 646 00:41:08,480 --> 00:41:13,400 Speaker 1: are these bats finding these three columns in in the 647 00:41:13,640 --> 00:41:16,880 Speaker 1: Mexico City Zoo. It's crazy. So now we have a 648 00:41:17,000 --> 00:41:20,719 Speaker 1: whole program looking at how bats are using the botanical 649 00:41:20,760 --> 00:41:24,759 Speaker 1: garden here the university as another zoo, by the airport, 650 00:41:25,120 --> 00:41:28,240 Speaker 1: by the Mexico City Airport, Lots of light, lots of noise, 651 00:41:28,320 --> 00:41:32,440 Speaker 1: lots of traffic, and the baths of air h I 652 00:41:32,600 --> 00:41:35,680 Speaker 1: love that story because I think it is another testament 653 00:41:35,760 --> 00:41:38,680 Speaker 1: to how much power we have in terms of we 654 00:41:38,880 --> 00:41:44,320 Speaker 1: can help these species survive even amongst humans, with just 655 00:41:44,880 --> 00:41:48,600 Speaker 1: three plants, just three flowers blooming in a zoo, and 656 00:41:48,719 --> 00:41:51,680 Speaker 1: they will come and find it. I know that species 657 00:41:52,000 --> 00:41:55,160 Speaker 1: are very fragile at times. With the same time, they 658 00:41:55,160 --> 00:41:58,319 Speaker 1: can be very resilient, and it just requires a little 659 00:41:58,360 --> 00:42:01,239 Speaker 1: bit of effort on our part to to help them out. 660 00:42:01,360 --> 00:42:04,960 Speaker 1: So I love that just just making sure that we 661 00:42:05,880 --> 00:42:09,600 Speaker 1: realize that we share the landscape with other species. I'm 662 00:42:09,680 --> 00:42:14,799 Speaker 1: giving them their space. It's so important, so important, Katie, exactly, now, 663 00:42:14,880 --> 00:42:18,840 Speaker 1: I absolutely agree. Before we go, I just want to 664 00:42:18,920 --> 00:42:21,760 Speaker 1: close off by asking, you know, most of our listeners 665 00:42:21,800 --> 00:42:23,759 Speaker 1: on the show I think are probably pretty big fans 666 00:42:23,840 --> 00:42:26,840 Speaker 1: of bats. But as we mentioned before, I think bats 667 00:42:26,920 --> 00:42:30,960 Speaker 1: get pretty rough treatment in popular culture and in the media, 668 00:42:31,400 --> 00:42:34,600 Speaker 1: and people are often afraid or disgusted by them. They 669 00:42:34,640 --> 00:42:37,879 Speaker 1: think that bats will like make a nest in their hair, 670 00:42:38,040 --> 00:42:40,640 Speaker 1: which is a total myth. They think they'll bite you 671 00:42:40,760 --> 00:42:43,719 Speaker 1: and suck your blood, which just doesn't really happen. I 672 00:42:43,840 --> 00:42:46,200 Speaker 1: think one thing I'm concerned about is that there's a 673 00:42:46,239 --> 00:42:51,000 Speaker 1: lot of news about zoonotic diseases, and unfortunately, bats are 674 00:42:51,400 --> 00:42:54,080 Speaker 1: a vector of disease sometimes with when it comes to 675 00:42:54,200 --> 00:42:57,720 Speaker 1: zoonotic diseases. Um, So I'm kind of worried that because 676 00:42:57,800 --> 00:43:00,360 Speaker 1: of this, and because of the pandemic, is going to 677 00:43:00,400 --> 00:43:03,719 Speaker 1: be a resurgence in the sphere of bath seeing them 678 00:43:03,880 --> 00:43:07,759 Speaker 1: as dirty and as vermin. What would you say in 679 00:43:08,000 --> 00:43:12,279 Speaker 1: terms of how do we mitigate that fear of bath? Sure, well, 680 00:43:12,360 --> 00:43:15,239 Speaker 1: there's this is a very very important topic idea. I 681 00:43:15,360 --> 00:43:18,720 Speaker 1: have to tell you that I have never worked harder 682 00:43:19,440 --> 00:43:23,480 Speaker 1: to defend baths from attacks from everywhere than in the 683 00:43:23,640 --> 00:43:27,440 Speaker 1: past year and a half, since the pandemic started. With 684 00:43:27,600 --> 00:43:32,279 Speaker 1: the first declarations that this was a bad virus, which 685 00:43:32,360 --> 00:43:36,800 Speaker 1: is absolutely not true. I started defending Bath left and 686 00:43:37,000 --> 00:43:40,719 Speaker 1: right all over the world. Now we know that the 687 00:43:41,239 --> 00:43:43,800 Speaker 1: that the virus that has us all in our homes, 688 00:43:43,920 --> 00:43:46,280 Speaker 1: in our offices, it said that are not being able 689 00:43:46,320 --> 00:43:48,840 Speaker 1: to interact with other human beings that we used to. 690 00:43:49,719 --> 00:43:53,120 Speaker 1: It's a human virus, it's not a bad virus that 691 00:43:53,680 --> 00:43:56,120 Speaker 1: that moved into a human being and then all human 692 00:43:56,160 --> 00:44:00,319 Speaker 1: beings are infected. You can only get COVID nineteen from 693 00:44:00,400 --> 00:44:04,040 Speaker 1: another human being. It's not true that if a bad 694 00:44:04,120 --> 00:44:06,560 Speaker 1: fly is by, or if you have bats in your belfry, 695 00:44:06,640 --> 00:44:08,960 Speaker 1: or if you visit a cave, you're going to be infected. 696 00:44:09,160 --> 00:44:12,640 Speaker 1: That is absolutely not true. There is a species of 697 00:44:12,920 --> 00:44:17,279 Speaker 1: virus that is closely related to this virus in some 698 00:44:17,480 --> 00:44:20,960 Speaker 1: bats in China, but that doesn't mean that though that 699 00:44:21,280 --> 00:44:24,480 Speaker 1: virus gave rise to this virus. That is as much 700 00:44:24,560 --> 00:44:27,040 Speaker 1: as to say that since we share so much of 701 00:44:27,160 --> 00:44:31,319 Speaker 1: our genetic information with chimps, chimps are rose from us 702 00:44:31,400 --> 00:44:34,800 Speaker 1: and or we come from chimps. That's not true. We 703 00:44:34,960 --> 00:44:37,640 Speaker 1: share a common ancestor. And that's the same case with 704 00:44:37,840 --> 00:44:40,759 Speaker 1: the with the covid virus and the bad virus. They 705 00:44:40,840 --> 00:44:44,399 Speaker 1: share a common ancestor, nobody knows how far, how long ago, 706 00:44:44,880 --> 00:44:47,120 Speaker 1: But that is not true. That that that one of 707 00:44:47,200 --> 00:44:50,600 Speaker 1: them comes from the other not true. And even furthermore, 708 00:44:51,080 --> 00:44:55,279 Speaker 1: if some crazy scientists would take the bad virus and 709 00:44:55,360 --> 00:44:58,719 Speaker 1: put it in a human body. That bad virus would 710 00:44:58,800 --> 00:45:01,120 Speaker 1: not be able to in it does because it doesn't 711 00:45:01,200 --> 00:45:06,560 Speaker 1: have the proper structure on its outside surface to to 712 00:45:06,800 --> 00:45:11,480 Speaker 1: insert into ourselves. So that's not true at all. The 713 00:45:11,680 --> 00:45:14,840 Speaker 1: real truth is that this is not come from baths. 714 00:45:15,200 --> 00:45:19,040 Speaker 1: There are some other possibilities that maybe baths can give 715 00:45:19,160 --> 00:45:23,319 Speaker 1: us some kind of of diseases, but it's the same 716 00:45:23,440 --> 00:45:27,480 Speaker 1: case with rats and with songbirds outside your window, and 717 00:45:27,680 --> 00:45:33,000 Speaker 1: even even with chickens. We know about avian influenza that 718 00:45:33,200 --> 00:45:36,719 Speaker 1: is affecting human beings as well. So it's in our 719 00:45:36,800 --> 00:45:41,680 Speaker 1: best interest to preserve ecosystems, to protect the rainforest, to 720 00:45:42,040 --> 00:45:45,120 Speaker 1: save a species, and that is going to make it 721 00:45:45,239 --> 00:45:48,080 Speaker 1: so that it's a lot less likely that we're going 722 00:45:48,160 --> 00:45:52,880 Speaker 1: to get infected by any other zoonotic disease. The interests 723 00:45:52,920 --> 00:45:57,920 Speaker 1: of conserving species, any interests of protecting humanity from zenotic diseases, 724 00:45:57,960 --> 00:46:01,320 Speaker 1: are perfectly aligned because we just don't want to be 725 00:46:02,239 --> 00:46:04,879 Speaker 1: over interacting with them to the point where we are, 726 00:46:05,239 --> 00:46:09,719 Speaker 1: you know, constantly encroaching on their environment, and that will 727 00:46:09,800 --> 00:46:13,239 Speaker 1: also reduce the chance of a zoonotic disease from from 728 00:46:13,320 --> 00:46:16,000 Speaker 1: any animal. I think people have this sense that you know, 729 00:46:16,120 --> 00:46:19,960 Speaker 1: we can only get zoonotic diseases from bats, but that's 730 00:46:20,000 --> 00:46:22,440 Speaker 1: absolutely not true. We can. In fact, you know, farm 731 00:46:22,520 --> 00:46:25,960 Speaker 1: animals are a huge concern because of their proximity to 732 00:46:26,160 --> 00:46:29,560 Speaker 1: humans and their environments. So so yeah, no, I think 733 00:46:29,640 --> 00:46:32,279 Speaker 1: that's really important. Yeah, And is there any any like 734 00:46:32,480 --> 00:46:34,759 Speaker 1: the last thing you want to say about bats? Do 735 00:46:34,880 --> 00:46:39,360 Speaker 1: you get people excited? Absolutely? Everyone can do something to 736 00:46:39,520 --> 00:46:43,640 Speaker 1: hell the gossip bat. Number one, Please share this story. 737 00:46:44,280 --> 00:46:48,960 Speaker 1: Please share the fact that you've heard today with your neighbors, 738 00:46:49,040 --> 00:46:51,880 Speaker 1: in the all phase, with your friends, with your family. 739 00:46:52,480 --> 00:46:56,080 Speaker 1: Just share that the knowledge that bats are so incredibly 740 00:46:56,120 --> 00:46:59,480 Speaker 1: important for the functioning of ecosystems and for our own 741 00:46:59,520 --> 00:47:04,160 Speaker 1: will be every day. Number two, if there are and 742 00:47:04,280 --> 00:47:08,680 Speaker 1: there are, I know there are many bad conservation organizations 743 00:47:08,719 --> 00:47:12,640 Speaker 1: in your area, considered donating, Consider getting in touch and 744 00:47:12,760 --> 00:47:16,160 Speaker 1: volunteering and helping them along. They're having a hard time 745 00:47:16,280 --> 00:47:20,360 Speaker 1: right now. And then number three, if you're really into baths, 746 00:47:20,800 --> 00:47:25,200 Speaker 1: start learning, start reading, and why not put up a 747 00:47:25,320 --> 00:47:29,800 Speaker 1: bad house outside your home, in the local park, on 748 00:47:29,960 --> 00:47:33,120 Speaker 1: the tree, up on the side of the building, wherever 749 00:47:33,239 --> 00:47:36,719 Speaker 1: you can put bad houses that are going to help. 750 00:47:37,520 --> 00:47:42,120 Speaker 1: But enormously so please just think of how much we 751 00:47:42,280 --> 00:47:45,880 Speaker 1: owe to baths. And the next time you have you 752 00:47:46,080 --> 00:47:50,239 Speaker 1: enjoy a glass of tequila, raise your class, and your 753 00:47:50,360 --> 00:47:52,840 Speaker 1: first sip of tequila is going to be to the 754 00:47:52,960 --> 00:47:56,960 Speaker 1: health of bats. See the Health of baths wonderful. Thank 755 00:47:57,040 --> 00:47:59,880 Speaker 1: you so much for joining us today. This is the 756 00:48:00,040 --> 00:48:05,040 Speaker 1: Dr Rodrigo Medaine, who you can see on Nature's The 757 00:48:05,200 --> 00:48:08,520 Speaker 1: Batman of Mexico. Thank you again so much for joining us. 758 00:48:08,960 --> 00:48:09,920 Speaker 1: Thank you Katy