What Is a Bat's Navigation System?

Bats navigate in the dark and hunt their prey through a process called echolocation. Under this system, bats listen to echoes that reverberate from sound waves they produce in order to determine the size and location of objects around them, including prey.

  1. Sound Waves

    • Bats release sound waves of various pitches and frequencies from their noses or mouths.

    Echoes

    • Bats listen to the echoes produced by their sound waves as the waves bounce off of objects and return to their ears. Using the echoes, a bat's brain is able to determine how far it is from an object and even the size of the object that is producing the echoes. If a bat is hunting, it repeatedly releases sound waves in order to listen to a constant flow of echoes reverberating off of its prey, which will enable it to fly directly to the prey.

    Other Senses

    • Bats also have fairly good senses of smell and sight, which they use in addition to echolocation to navigate.