The Genius Bat: The Secret Life of the Only Flying Mammal

Ecologist and neurobiologist Yovel shares the fruits of his decades of field and lab research on bats in this standout work of popular science. The almost 1,500 species of bats around the world, he explains, account for 20% of all mammalian species. Bats come in all shapes and sizes and have varying behaviors. Vampire bats, for example, engage in “reciprocal altruism,” preferring to share the blood that forms their diet with others who had previously done the same with them, and Africa’s male hammer-headed bats make sounds akin to the beeping of truck horns to attract females. Yovel chronicles the “arms race” between bats and the insects they eat, noting some prey have evolved to detect and “jam” bats’ echolocation calls. Yovel also details his own contributions to bat science, including his work attaching over 1,000 GPS devices to bats in more than 10 countries to understand what life is like for these mammals. He’s come to believe they are conscious creatures; “the vampire bat that returns home after a sleepless night and feeds a hungry member of its colony must have some consciousness.” Yovel’s passion and curiosity will leave readers with a greater appreciation for the wonders and mysteries of the bat world. This is a revelation. (Oct.)