It's Freaking Bats!

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What an absolutely phenomenal episode! As someone who is currently working on a PhD project involving bat phylogenetics, I can confirm that the general consensus among bat researchers is that the phylogeny is complete and total mess. The adaptive radiation when bats evolved was so rapid and explosive that even with complete genomes we can barely figure out the relationships! Thank you so much for bringing such a lovely spotlight to these wonderful, ecologically pivotal, and frequently misunderstood little mammals.

Fun and adorable fac: New Zealand's long-tailed bat was voted 'Bird of the Year' in 2021. It works, because in Maori, both bats and birds are classed as 'winged creatures' (as well as any other creature with wings, like cicadas and butterflies), which I find intensely endearing. Look forward to seeing you back on the Isles one day, Clint!

Clint! I was one of your students! I've always remembered the tadpole and Play-doh lesson and the snakes in class :) You were always so exciting and inspiring and challenged me to view the world differently. Thank you for all you do!

I Don not get how somone could hate bats, they're so cute, and beneficial to humans in so many ways, and they're basically tiny mammalian wyverns in terms of looks which makes them even cooler

I have never spent so much time looking at bats. I always kind of thought that they just looked like foxes or mice, but the longer I watched this episode the more I realized that bats are their own freaky-cool totally-different-in-every-way sort of animal. I feel enlightened.

I once rehabilitated a poor bat that I found . It had gotten locked in an empty commercial building and was starving and dehydrated. A couple days of crickets from the pet store and water from a squeeze dropper and he was on his way home fit as a fiddle.it was such a cool experience.

Skypuppies are just so adorable :) Teacher of mine during primary school was totally into bats, and he'd take his students on night-time trips to try and catch bats in the act. We probably made as much noise as a rhinoceros stumbling about because we never saw any, but his enthusiasm for bats definitely rubbed off on some of us. Bats are also highly interesting because of the modifications to their immune system relative to other mammals. This is a likely adaptation because of the inflammation caused by the stress of flying, not unlike that of the cellular damage seen by whales and their adaptations. Bats in general also tend to be rather long-lived, which I guess could make them into really good pets. If you're into that kind of thing, of course :)

Awe, you didn't talk about how bat wings generate lift. I'm bias because I built animated 3d reconstructions as a college project, but like, the way bats fly is so different from what people expect. Sorry like most of my work, I never got around to publishing, I am terrible about that and am technically just a hobby biologist with degrees so it's not like I make my living off of research. However, the flight info has been published by others, just without the animations so you shouldn't have any trouble reading about them. There are several styles bats use, but the vampire bats have some of the coolest features all in one.

the spectral bat stood out to me immediately, like a canine and dragon cross! what a cool animal.

All of your content is great but I felt this "episode" was particularly great. Very informative and the humor as always makes the information far more palatable.

Microbats are so unique, I wish more zoos worked with them(some could definitely use some captive breeding)

It's funny cuz bats are living proof to me that a creature can be weird, cute, and terrifying all at the same time.... Well, I'd use the words "slightly scary" or "spooky" personally, but it's the same vibe I think 🤔

Thank you for continuing to create the best zoological content on youtube. I love how you are able to convey relatively complex biological concepts to the layman while simultaneously being so laid back and entertaining. This is what modern education is missing and I am so happy for the next generation of future zoologists who these videos will inevitably inspire. I love this series! Happy Halloween!

This was truly amazing. I love looking at evolutionary trees. I also had to rewind for a full minute because I couldn't get "sky-noceroses" out of my head after you said it.

there are only 9 species of bats here in Scotland but I love them. Im a consultant ecologist, so I deal with bats a lot

New Zealander here... The smile on my face when you started to talk about Short Tailed Bats practically lit up my room- Short-Tailed Bats are my favourite animal in the world! And Bats are, in general, my favorite animals in the world. I just wanted to thank you for making these amazing videos. They're just awesome, Im hooked! I wanted to mention the Long-Tailed Bat, the species that went extinct (Most likely). You see, Long-tailed bats had very short tails. And short-tailed bats have.... rather long tails. Ironic, huh? Anyway, just- thank you. You're videos are so cool, amazingly entertaining, and have sparked my interest in biology right back up Cheers mate- from your ol' friends down in Nyu Zelan'

Hey Clint! Just wanted to give a massive thank you to you and your team. Because of y’all I’ve rediscovered my love of reptiles and all animals in general. I discovered your channel a few months ago after I lost my dog Bosa, and your positivity and passion about what you teach and talk about is absolutely infectious. I had lizards and turtles in the past but I never really appreciated them the way I should have. Thanks to y’all I know the proper ways to go about everything in the future and what all to do. TL:DR, thank you. P.S. I blame you for my new obsession with Argentine Tegus.

I wish every YouTuber everywhere ended every video with "please keep your cats indoors." Awesome video about one of my favorite groups of animals! Thanks for another fantastic watch, Clint and dream team!

I love all your colorful mouth & nose descriptions! You never fail to enlighten & amuse. Thank you!