When the first known bats appeared during the Eocene epoch, they probably had evolved echo location to hunt insects in the air. Modern descendants such as this Townsend’s big-eared bat have reached the apotheosis of aerial predation. The Townsend’s echolocation calls are quieter than other bats’ and their flight more acrobatic.
This series of photos shows one Townsend’s hunt, captured by staff photographer Mark Thiessen in a field tent in Arizona.
In just half a second, the bat locates a moth (1), reaches to grab it with a wing (2), and transfers it from the wing to its tail pouch (3). Afterward, the bat will lower its head to retrieve the moth for a mid-flight meal. Aaron Corcoran, a University of Colorado, Colorado Springs researcher and National Geographic Explorer who studies the…
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National Geographic (Digital) - 1 Issue, August 2024