How Baby Bats Learn To Eavesdrop On Dinner
May 14, 2025•14 min•Ep. 1273
Episode description
Most bats use echolocation to navigate and hunt, but some use their ears for another trick: eavesdropping.
"And then these frog-eating bats, for example, they are actually listening in on the mating calls of frogs that are much, much lower in frequency," says behavioral ecologist Rachel Page.
But how the bats knew this eavesdropping trick was a mystery. So she set up and experiment with baby bats and a speaker.
Have a question about the animals all around us? Email us at [email protected] — we'd love to hear from you!
Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NPR Privacy Policy
"And then these frog-eating bats, for example, they are actually listening in on the mating calls of frogs that are much, much lower in frequency," says behavioral ecologist Rachel Page.
But how the bats knew this eavesdropping trick was a mystery. So she set up and experiment with baby bats and a speaker.
Have a question about the animals all around us? Email us at [email protected] — we'd love to hear from you!
Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NPR Privacy Policy
For the best experience, listen in Metacast app for iOS or Android
Open in Metacast