How do bats see in the dark?
Many bats find their way in the dark using echolocation. They make high-pitched calls and listen to the echoes that bounce back to locate objects and insects.
An echolocating bat sends out rapid pulses of sound, usually too high for humans to hear. When the sound hits an object, part of it bounces back. By judging how long the echo takes to return and how it changes, the bat can work out an object's distance, size, shape and even texture. As it closes in on an insect, it calls faster, creating a buzz.
This system is so precise that some bats can detect objects as thin as a human hair. Bats' large ears and special facial features, such as nose leaves, help direct and collect the sound. Some moths have evolved ears to hear bats coming, and a few can even jam their calls.
Bats are not blind
The saying blind as a bat is a myth. All bats can see, and many see quite well. Large fruit bats, also called flying foxes, rely mainly on sight and smell to find fruit and flowers, and most of them do not echolocate at all.
Did You Know?
There are more than 1,400 species of bats, making up about one in five of all mammal species on Earth.