Recent research reveals that the tiny southern bent-wing bat, critically endangered and about the size of a matchbox, can fly distances averaging 150km in one night. Positioned primarily in south-west Victoria and south-east South Australia, these bats forage extensively, consuming half their weight in insects. Researchers tracked the bats using GPS devices to gather insights on their flights from the Portland maternity cave. Remarkably, they travel to locations like the Naracoorte caves, often returning the next night, demonstrating their incredible commuting abilities for such small creatures.
To put this in perspective, the average person commutes 16km to work in Australia, usually with the help of a vehicle.
Those vast distances were pretty amazing for a bat that's less than the size of a mouse.
The bats flew further from their roosts during summer-autumn, with an average nightly commute of 36km.
Researchers fitted miniature GPS trackers on to 39 adult bats in September 2023 to gather essential data on their foraging flights.
Collection
[
|
...
]