"Drunk" Bats Fly Right--Discovery Surprises Scientists

[n2doc]

Christine Dell'Amore
National Geographic News
Published February 9, 2010

"Drunk" bats have no trouble flying under the influence, a new study says.

Tropical bats of Central and South America regularly eat fermenting fruits and nectar. But they can fly and use their built-in "sonar" just as well while inebriated as while sober—even with blood-alcohol contents that would exceed legal limits for people.

(See more pictures of Central American bats.)

"We went into the study fully expecting that some of the species wouldn’t be able to hold their drink," said study co-author Brock Fenton, a biologist at the University of Western Ontario in Canada.

But "the bats, unfortunately, hadn’t read the proposal," he said.

more:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/02/100209-drunk-bats-fly/

[pinto]

1. What a great photo.

And a good line - But "the bats, unfortunately, hadn’t read the proposal," he said.

[TlalocW]

2. Hi, what do you do?

I'm a scientist.
Oh, how interesting! What are you working on right now?
Oh, we're getting different animals drunk to see how they react.
...
Later, in the second phase of the experiment, we'll get them drunk and see how they react to, "Louie, Louie," played really loud.

TlalocW

[xchrom]

3. I'm hope you provide them with a sandy beach while

Playing.
Setting is everything.

[Phoonzang]

4. Best...job...ever. nt