Bats

José Santiago of Palenque Don Lencho, in San Pablo Guilá village, with wooden vats of fermenting agave prior to distillation

The Race to Save Mezcal From the World

Climate change, corporate money, soaring demand—can Mexico’s local agave growers find a viable path for a beloved beverage?

A bat clings to the roof of an abandoned cellar—an unlikely but vital habitat type for Europe’s bats.

How a Fantastical Labyrinth Became a Crucial Habitat for Europe’s Bats

After scientists documented the flying mammals in the Piusa Sand Caves, dug by miners a century ago, conservationists strove to protect the vital habitat

For rabbits and hares, females typically weigh more than males, according to a new study.

For Most Mammal Species, Males Actually Aren't Larger Than Females, Study Finds

New research upends a long-held theory that male mammals tend to be bigger than their female counterparts

When erect, the penises of male serotine bats are seven times longer than female bats' vaginas and seven times wider than the females' vaginal openings.

This Bat Uses Its Extra Long Penis Like an Arm While Mating

Serotine bats are the first mammals known to mate without penetration, new research suggests

With a baby in tow, a gray-headed flying fox uses her large eyes to navigate, rather than relying on echolocation as other bat species do. 

Why Australians Are Growing to Appreciate These Giant, Threatened Bats

Once seen as a menace, the gray-headed flying fox brings new life after recent devastating wildfires

The fossil of Icaronycteris gunnelli

Paleontologists Discover 52-Million-Year-Old Bat

The fossil represents the earliest-known species of the flying mammal

About 100 miles northwest of Mexico City in the UNESCO-designated Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, up to a billion of the brilliant-winged insects spend November to March clustered on branches.

A Ring of Fire, Millions of Monarchs and Other Rare Natural Phenomena Worth Traveling For

Be in the right place at the right time to witness these sublime sights

The bats were kept inside when temperatures dropped below freezing but were released back to their homes in late December.

Texas Woman Rescues 1,500 Hypothermic Bats During Cold Snap

The Houston Humane Society wildlife center director nursed the animals to health in her attic

Pollinators, including bees, are suffering because of human activities.

Shrinking Pollinator Populations Could Be Killing 427,000 People Per Year

New research explores the relationship between human health and crop loss due to pollination deficits around the world

The northern long-eared bat was listed as threatened in 2015. It will officially be reclassified as endangered in January 2023. 

Decimated by Fungus, the Northern Long-Eared Bat Is Now Endangered

A disease called white-nose syndrome has killed millions of bats in North America

A frog-eating bat

Wild Bats Can Recognize a Phone’s Ringtone Four Years Later

The findings could help researchers understand more about the advantages and disadvantages of long-term memory in animals

A greater horseshoe bat can use echolocation to target an insect meal.

Five Amazing Adaptations That Help Animals Thrive in the Dark

From snakes that use infrared radiation to find prey to deep sea fishes that communicate via bioluminescence, these creatures flourish without light

Big brown bats Eptesicus fuscus (pictured) are a Yangochiroptera species that uses complex sounds to echolocate. 

A Tiny, Partially Missing Bone Structure in Bat Ears May Have Cleared the Way for Echolocation to Evolve

Nearly 90 percent of the nighttime hunters use sound to find prey

New Zealand's long-tailed bats are about the size of a human thumb and weigh less than a tablespoon of sugar.

New Zealand's Bird of the Year Is... a Bat

The winged mammal is critically endangered and won the award to raise awareness about their existence and importance to the island ecosystem

A researcher holds a banded vampire bat.

Vampire Bats Call Out to Friends to Share Blood Meals

After they prep bite sites to lap the blood out of live cows, females invite their roostmates to join them

A thermal image shows a parrot releasing heat through its beak and talons. Researchers have found that since 1871 some parrots have increased their beak area up to 10 percent.

Animals Are Changing Shape to Cope With Rising Temperatures

Birds, bats, rabbits, mice and other creatures are growing bigger body parts to cool themselves off

Mother and pup of the bat species Saccopteryx bilineata. Similar to human infants, pups begin babbling at a young age as they develop language skills.

Baby Bats Babble—Just Like Human Infants

Both species make similar sounds as they develop language skills at an early age

Bats, whales, naked mole rats, elephants, albatrosses, certain dog breeds and a few other animals live unexpectedly long lives. Can scientists discover their secrets?

Why Scientists Are Studying the Genetic Tricks of the Longest-Lived Animals

Researchers are investigating how some species live unexpectedly long lives in order to pinpoint factors affecting human longevity.

Foster mother, BD, feeds her adopted vampire bat pup in a captive bat colony at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Gamboa, Panama.

Baby Vampire Bat Adopted by Mom's Best Friend

The strong relationship formed between two female adult vampire bats may have motivated one of the bats to adopt the other’s baby

Myotis nimbaenis was named for the Nimba Mountains where it was found.

Newly Discovered Bat Species Has Halloween Colors

The six-ounce bat lives in abandoned mine shafts in Guinea's Nimba Mountains

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