The Social Language of Bats
February 4, 2025
Bats can use sounds in many complex ways. They can sing and even have different dialects… When imagining a bat, the first thoughts that come
We spent the afternoon looking for night roosts, because the cold front and high winds would minimize bat activity. We drove for miles, looking under bridges with no luck. Then we spotted an abandoned cinder-block building. On the floor inside we found lots of droppings and abundant wings of large insects, indicative of night roosting pallid bats. With this evidence in hand, we returned at sundown armed with several mist nets. It was so cold that only a few bats arrived, but we caught three pallid bats.
We took these back to the studio where Merlin tested them for likelihood of cooperation by hand-feeding them mealworms. And although under such circumstances each bat was precious, he released one immediately because it refused to eat from his hand. There was nothing to do but wait and see if at least one of our remaining bats would go to our cardon flowers.
After about 30 minutes of watching our bats with great anticipation, as they circled our flowers, the one we had already worked with for a night suddenly decided to go to a flower, and we got outstanding pictures with its head thoroughly covered in pollen. This bat couldn’t have performed any better, and we got incredible shots, despite our early challenges. We named her La Contessa, after the original proprietress of the villa of San Basilio where we had captured her.
We were delighted with the great results, but our one bat quickly became engorged with nectar and didn’t want to come back, so we made sure the bats were well fed, and went to bed at 3 a.m.
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Bats can use sounds in many complex ways. They can sing and even have different dialects… When imagining a bat, the first thoughts that come
Thanks to all the Join the Nightlife: Bats and Agriculture attendees who joined us out in the field this year! Guests got hands-on experience with
Supporter and friend of MTBC, Australian conservation and animal welfare photojournalist Doug Gimesy, had his images recognized in two categories at the recent Siena International
Fieldwork requires a lot of equipment, but photography requires even more! During our June 2024 photography workshop, we transported over 100 lbs. of equipment —
2024 © Merlin Tuttle’s Bat Conservation. All rights reserved.
Madelline Mathis has a degree in environmental studies from Rollins College and a passion for wildlife conservation. She is an outstanding nature photographer who has worked extensively with Merlin and other MTBC staff studying and photographing bats in Mozambique, Cuba, Costa Rica, and Texas. Following college graduation, she was employed as an environmental specialist for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. She subsequently founded the Florida chapter of the International DarkSky Association and currently serves on the board of DarkSky Texas. She also serves on the board of Houston Wilderness and was appointed to the Austin Water Resource Community Planning Task Force.
Michael Lazari Karapetian has over twenty years of investment management experience. He has a degree in business management, is a certified NBA agent, and gained early experience as a money manager for the Bank of America where he established model portfolios for high-net-worth clients. In 2003 he founded Lazari Capital Management, Inc. and Lazari Asset Management, Inc. He is President and CIO of both and manages over a half a billion in assets. In his personal time he champions philanthropic causes. He serves on the board of Moravian College and has a strong affinity for wildlife, both funding and volunteering on behalf of endangered species.