How to think like a bat

Day 27 , Sunday, August 6
Although we finished our netting last night, we decide to put up two nets, a 12 m and 6 m, to see if we can catch any bats. Sergio and I teach Helen and Fernie how to go through the thought process to put up nets, where to place them, what sort of things to think about. We describe to Helen and Fernie how to think about bat flight and where a bat typically would be flying. In the jungle, bats fly along trails and the open space above streams, using them the same way we use trails. A bend in a stream is a great place to put a net. As the bat flies around a corner it may not see or have time to maneuver around a net that is in its path. We set our nets at a bend in a nearby stream and capture 5 Sturnira ludovici. We go through the identification process and ecology of bats with the students back at camp.