"Using night-vision infrared cameras, scientists watched as rats stalked the entrance of the pitch-black cave and successfully caught 13 of the 30 bats they hunted. The study concluded that rats were now able to use their whiskers to 'feel' the bats in complete darkness, and then snatched them out of the air with their paws before surgically biting the necks to kill them."
"However, the threat may also extend to humans, as scientists warned that rats could begin spreading dangerous pathogens, including coronaviruses, which bats naturally carry without getting sick. Although scientists warned these bat killings could, in theory, allow viruses to jump into rats and then spread more easily to people, there is no evidence this is happening yet. No immediate danger to humans has been found."
Local brown rats in Germany ambushed bats entering caves at night, leaping to catch them despite complete darkness. Night-vision infrared footage shows rats stalked cave entrances and successfully caught 13 of 30 bats hunted. Rats used whiskers to sense bats in darkness, snatched them midair with paws, and killed them by biting necks. Fifteen rats patrolling a bat cave over a winter could theoretically kill 2,000–8,000 bats, risking local colony collapse. This is the first recorded instance of common rats in Europe exhibiting such predatory behavior. Direct contact between bats and rats could enable virus spillover, though no evidence of transmission to rats or humans exists yet.
Read at Mail Online
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]