Tiny recording backpacks reveal bats’ surprising hunting strategy

By listening in on their nightly hunts, scientists discovered that small, fringe-lipped bats are unexpectedly able to efficiently take down prey nearly their own size.

By: Leonie Baier, Naturalis Biodiversity Center, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: February 27, 2026

Words: 1,543

Last Updated: 1 week, 5 days ago

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By Leonie Baier, Naturalis Biodiversity Center

Deep into the Panamanian night, the forest hums with sound. Chirping insects form a steady backdrop, rain softly trickles from leaves. Somewhere above a stream, frogs call into the darkness.

But I am not there to see this scene.

It’s already passed. What I hold now is a small, mud-smeared biologger, no larger than a Lego brick. This tag recorded the sounds of the previous night.

The evening before, my …

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