Bats use their adapted hearing to see in the dark

Bats will spend almost their entire lives living in the dark, so like owls, they have adapted their hearing to hunt effectively at night. But instead of the owl’s tactic, they use echolocation like dolphins, and emit high-pitched noises to deduce the location of their prey based on the sound that bounces back.

Bats’ prey is much smaller than dolphins’ as they mainly feed on insects, so their hunting techniques require far more precision. They can deduce the location of an insect from as far as ten metres (33 feet) away. The spotted bat, in particular, has incredible hearing, and its iconic ears are a giveaway of that talent. These translucent ears are vulnerable to tears and cuts so the bats close their ears with every wing stroke.