Scientists discover bats 'jam' each other's sonar when competing for food

Scientists discover bats 'jam' each other's sonar when competing for food
(Image credit: iStock)

Turns out, bats may be the ultimate frenemies.

Scientists studying Mexican free-tailed bats found that the mammals are less than cooperative during bug hunting. Instead, the bats "jam" each other's echolocation abilities as one hunter goes for the kill, opening the insect back up to the other flyers. The jamming stops a hunting bat from capturing its prey 86 percent of the time, scientists said. When jamming, bats send out a call with a pitch that moves quickly up and down, blanketing the echolocation calls the hunting bat is sending out to identify an insect's location.

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Sarah Eberspacher

Sarah Eberspacher is an associate editor at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked as a sports reporter at The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus and The Arizona Republic. She graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.