GREATER BULLDOG BATFeatured in the "Hunters and Hunted" episode of Life.
 More Life
Video: Watch bulldog bats fish at night.
Scene Analysis: Take a closer look at the "Bulldog Bats Fishing" scene. HowStuffWorks: Could a fungus cause the extinction of bats? THE SOUND AND THE FURRY
Conventional fishing wisdom is simple: If you want to catch something good, be quiet. Try telling that to a greater bulldog bat. This flying mammal, found in parts of Central and South America, is one of the planet's noisiest fishermen. Each night, this bat returns to a favorite watering hole — a pond, river or lagoon — and emits high-frequency chirps while flying high above the water. The sound waves travel through the air and bounce off objects in the environment. Scientists call this echolocation, and it's the primary technique used by bats for navigation and hunting.
Greater bulldog bats use several different echolocation strategies to hunt successfully. During "high search flight," a bat flies 10 to 20 inches (25 to 50 centimeters) above the water while emitting groups of two to four sound pulses. These signals produce telltale echoes when they bounce off a fish breaking the water surface. Upon detecting these echoes, a bat will descend to "low search flight." As it makes a sweep across the water, it emits a long series of much shorter pulses designed for close-range detection of prey. Finally, to avoid head-on collisions with other bats during low search flight, individuals interject high-pitched screeches into the conversation. These screeches act like the honks of taxi drivers, warning other night flyers that a particular airspace is occupied.
HOMELY FACE, DEADLY CLAWS
How are these hunters built? Males grow larger than females and weigh in at nearly 3 ounces (85 grams). That's less than a baseball weighs. Greater bulldog bats typically reach lengths of 4 to 5 inches (102 to 127 millimeters), with wings that can unfurl to a full 12 inches (305 millimeters) from tip to tip.
Like most bats, greater bulldogs have faces only a mother could love: big noses, pointed ears and those trademark lips, which resemble those of a bulldog. Not that you would mistake this bat for a dog — not with its long, narrow wings and its large, taloned hind feet, which come equipped with sharp, scythelike claws.
HONK IF YOU LOVE FISH
In the "Hunters and Hunted" episode of Life, you can watch those claws in action. After detecting ripples made by unsuspecting fish, the bats swoop down to the water and skim just inches from the surface. Then they then rake their large, taloned feet through the water to snag their prey. Bats subdue hooked fish with a quick bite while still in flight and either store the partially chewed meal in their cheeks or carry it to a feeding perch. A single bat may catch and consume 30 to 40 small fish nightly in this manner.
Written by William Harris, HowStuffWorks
|
advertisement
More Life
Stay Connected
Own Life
|
-
our sites
-
video
mobile
-
shop
-
stay connected
-
corporate
