The grey-headed and spectacled species of mainland flying fox — common in Australia, also known as “fruit bats” — have historically experienced such low numbers that they faced the possibility of extinction, reported The Conversation. But after a decade-long survey by the National Flying-fox Monitoring Program (NFFMP) — coordinated by CSIRO, along with state and […]
Tag: bats
Bats are in trouble. That’s not good for anyone who likes mezcal, rice or avocado
If you’ve ever enjoyed coffee, tomatoes, corn, bananas, mangoes, walnuts, chocolate, tequila or mezcal, you may just owe bats a thank-you. While bats are often the subject of fear and scorn – they’re fixtures in Halloween decor and haunted-house imagery, and are frequently portrayed as harbingers of doom – their presence is often a sign […]
Most male mammals are not bigger than females: New analysis of more than 400 species
New research is cutting male mammals down to size. While we may think of hulking elephant seal bulls or huge stags, these males appear to be the exception, rather than the rule. A new analysis of more than 400 species suggests that there are more mammals where the females are actually the same size as, […]
Bats ‘leapfrog’ back to roost to stay safe from predators, study finds
Bats fly back to their roosts after a night of hunting in a “leapfrogging” pattern that allows them to maximise their time out and stay safe from predators, researchers have found. A team from Cardiff University and the University of Sussex developed a mathematical model using “trajectory data” that tracked the flight of greater horseshoe […]
Have Bats Moved into Your Shed? Signs to Look Out For
While many people wouldn’t choose to have bats roosting in their property, they can make their home in your house more often than you might realise. Sheds are often a popular setting for bats, along with lofts. If you think that you might have bats present in your shed, then it’s worth learning more about […]
Free-tailed funnel cloud (reprint from June 2011)
When Doppler radar first arrived in the area known affectionately to Texans as the Hill Country, the local television station meteorologists were understandably eager to show off the weather forecasting capabilities of their newest toy. Unfortunately, they got off to a less than impressive start. Night after night that summer, evening thunderstorms were forecast but […]
Fungus among us
More bad news for bats, I’m afraid—the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has confirmed that white-nose syndrome (WNS) has now spread to the endangered gray bat. The fungus, which has devastated large populations of North American bats, was detected in Tennessee gray bats although biologists did not find evidence that it had killed any animals […]