The Secret Lives of Bats

My Adventures with the World's Most Misunderstood Mammals

Merlin Tuttle

• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
• Year: 2020
• eBook ISBN: 9780544390430
• Topic: Biological Sciences
• Subtopic: Science & Technology Biographies
• Index: Biological Sciences

Stories and science surrounding the beloved bat, from an ecologist who has dedicated his life to the curious creature.

Few people realize how sophisticated and intelligent bats are. Merlin Tuttle knows, and he has stopped at nothing to find and protect them on every continent they inhabit. Sharing highlights from a lifetime of adventure and discovery, Tuttle takes us to the frontiers of bat research to show that frog-eating bats can identify frogs by their calls, that some bats have social sophistication similar to that of higher primates, and that bats have remarkable memories. Bats also provide enormous benefits by eating crop pests, pollinating plants, and carrying seeds needed for reforestation. They save farmers billions of dollars annually and are essential to a healthy planet. Tuttle's account forever changes the way we see these poorly understood yet fascinating creatures. 

"Grips and doesn't let go."— Wall Street Journal

"It's a terrific read."—Huffington Post 

"A whirlwind adventure story and a top-shelf natural history page-turner."—Sy Montgomery, author of  The Soul of an Octopus

"One of the best, most interesting books I've ever read."—Elizabeth Marshall Thomas, author of  The Hidden Life of Dogs

Index

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

A

Ackerman, Diane: The Moon by Whale Light, 126

Allen, Bill, 152–53

Allen, Tom, 73

American Museum of Natural History (New York), 58

American Samoa: congressional hearings in, 238–40

flying foxes in, 235–39

rain forest conservation in, 238–42

ammonia inhalation poisoning, 138, 139–40, 143, 147–49

Angolan fruit bat, 221

anole lizards, 209

Asian wrinkle-lipped bat, 179, 187, 193

Austin (Texas): bat colonies in, ix–xii, 247

Australia: flying foxes in, 230–33, 246

B

Baloney Cave (Tennessee): bat colonies in, 1–6, 15–16, 19, 34

moonshiners in, 15–19

banana bat, 163

bananas: bats pollinate, 181–82, 214–15

bandit attacks, 165–66

Barro Colorado Island (Panama): bat colonies on, 92–107, 168, 185

Bat Conservation International (BCI), x, 26, 41–42, 64, 70–71, 93, 112, 116–17, 131, 140, 156, 176, 186, 190, 228, 246, 248, 250

bats. See also species names

banding of, 5–6, 9–10, 14–15, 19, 20, 23–25, 27, 32, 39, 44, 54

census methods for, 188–89

commercial hunting of, 178–80, 188–89, 194–95, 226–27, 234, 237–38, 246, 250

conservation efforts for, 41–42, 67–71, 124, 131–32, 140, 156–57, 172, 175, 180–81, 195, 232, 234, 237–42, 246, 248–51

control crop pests, 141, 149–54, 155–57, 174, 179, 196

courtship behavior, 87–88, 93, 159–60, 163, 169

as disease-carriers, ix, 38–39, 46, 228, 232–33, 243, 246–47

dominance and territoriality, 53–55

education regarding, x–xi, 41–42, 46, 69–71, 80, 90–91, 194, 228, 232, 244–46, 250

feeding habits, xi, 4, 21, 35, 41, 43–49, 50, 53–57, 59–66, 68–69, 76–80, 84–86, 92, 95, 118–19,...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Contents
• Copyright
• Dedication
• A City That Loves Bats
• Acknowledgments
• Teenage Discoveries
• Saving the Gray Myotis
• Tracking Bat Nightlife
• Investigating Vampire Bats
• Bats Through a Camera’s Eye
• Discovering Frog-Eating Bats
• Finding America’s Most Elusive Bats
• Cacti That Compete for Bats
• Photos I
• Free-Tailed Bat Caves and Crop Pests
• African Adventures
• Bat-Loving Monks, Tigers, and Poachers
• Mysteries of Bat-Guiding Flowers
• Photos II
• Bat Foresters
• Fruit Grower Complaints
• A National Park for Bats
• Hope for the Future
• Bibliography
• Index
• About the Author
• Connect with HMH