The avalanche of speculative reports associating bats with COVID-19 seems never ending. However, at a time of scary misinformation, bat researchers and conservationists worldwide are discovering new reasons to appreciate bats, some decades in the making.
In Central America, researchers from the Free University of Berlin analyzed communication between bat mothers and their pups. Just like humans talking to a baby, adult greater sac-winged bats (Saccopteryx bilineata) alter the “color” and pitch of their pup-directed vocalizations. Not surprising, this breakthrough indicates parent-offspring communication in bats is more complex than previously assumed. Further investigation of social feedback during vocal development in young bats may reveal even more shared language features between bats and humans.
We congratulate all who are persevering in unveiling the real world of bats in times when investigation, attention and resources have been so severely misdirected toward disease speculation. Discoveries of bat sophistication and values, and effective communication, have never been more important.
TAKE ACTION!
We invite you to choose any or all means of sharing your THANKS and ENCOURAGEMENT for this positive press. We’re always especially excited to share praise-worthy Bat Flashes.
Our combined voices can make a difference. We invite you to briefly share your praise in your own words with producers and editors. They do take notice. Remember, your response can be very simple. Just let them know you like or dislike an article. It’s numbers that count and bats need all of you! Tell a friend about bat values and how they can help. Thank you for your vigilant support of bats, their conservation, and MTBC.
Show your support in the comments at the bottom of each article and/or share on Facebook and Twitter!
- Contact Forbes (Bats use baby talk)
- Forbes Editor
- Forbes Author, Sara Tabin, Twitter
- Forbes Facebook
- Forbes Twitter
- Contact Atlas Obscura (The delicate art of identifying bats by their penis bones)
- Contact Phys.org (Movement ecology bears fruits: atlas supports map-based navigation of wild bats)
- Contact researcher of Guidelines for communicating about bats to prevent persecution in the time of COVID-19
- Ricardo Rocha, ricardo.nature@gmail.com
- Contact Mercury Mirage
- Production Manager and Researcher, Hossein Zohoori, hossein.zohoori@gmail.com