PD-USGov ,public domain.
Joel Kontinen
Bats ae one of the
creatures we admire most. First, they utter ecolocate. Science tells us that
the mother of all bats could probably like modern bats.
Some bat prey have also developed
the ability to hear bats' sounds and take evasive
action, setting up a relentless battle of who hears who first. They utter
ultrasound which we can’t do.
Bats also use neurons to find their way in total darkness.
“Ultrasound
doesn't actually travel very far in air, though, so most bats have to really
belt their echolocation calls out in order to have enough sound range to avoid
flying into an object before they detect it or to find a tiny insect in front
of them. It's sort of like headlights on a car — bright lights are needed to
drive fast. Faster bats must be loud and have their sound travel far.
This results in
another problem. The sounds bats make can be absolutely deafening to bats
themselves — the equivalent of holding a shrieking smoke detector up to your
ear if the sound were within human hearing range. Bats generate these really
loud sounds right next to their own ears so how do they not deafen
themselves? “
Bats use their
middle ear muscles to essentially "close their ears" while they are
sending out sound waves. Of course, to hear the reflected sound waves, they
must quickly re-open their ears. Bats can do this 10 times per second.
Interestingly, some bat prey have also developed the ability to hear bats'
sounds and take evasive action, setting up a relentless battle of who hears who
first. “
Source:
Lausen. Cori. 2020. Bats are superheroes of the night. Live Science 28 December
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