10/30/2025
SOUND UP 🎤🦇You probably know that bats use echolocation to navigate and hunt in the dark, but they can also make other sounds, like the high-pitched chirps you can hear from this Mexican Free-Tailed Bat.
🦇 Bats use various squeaks, clicks, and chirps to communicate in the roost, for mothers to call to their pups, and when feeling threatened. Many of their sounds, however, are above the range of human hearing, including echolocation.
🔊 Did you know that not all bats use echolocation? About 70% of bat species do, but fruit bats instead rely on their large olfactory bulbs and excellent vision to navigate and locate food. Of the bat species that do echolocate, there are two categories: shouting bats (adapted to forage in open spaces, requiring louder calls to echo back) and whispering bats (adapted to cluttered environments like dense forests). Unfortunately, noise pollution can interfere with bats’ echolocation, and some species including the Mexican Free-Tailed Bat have been observed attempting to modify their calls to adapt.
