Bats fight over food and friends, sometimes for fun

A new study from scientists at Tel Aviv University shows that bats are a socially sophisticated species who squabble with each other over food, sleeping positions and mating, and sometimes even fight just for the sake of fighting

A team of researchers, led by Prof. Yossi Yovel of the Department of Zoology at TAU’s Faculty of Life Sciences, recorded sounds emitted by 22 Egyptian fruit bats over the course of 75 days.

Previously, these calls were thought to be simple expressions of aggression, but the study revealed that the winged mammals learn to communicate over time, rather than being born with a finite set of communication skills.

Bats also use calls to identify themselves and greet each other as either “friend” or “foe.”

Bat calls “contain information about the identities of the caller and the addressee,” Prof. Yossi Yovel said in a statement explaining that the team was also “able to discern the purpose and the context of the conversation, as well as the possible outcome of the ‘discussion.'”

The TAU scientists said their findings could shed light upon the evolution of communication in all species — including that of humans.