A new study found that male bats are one of the sexiest and best romantic singers in the animal world. They vocalize in a specific way to attract females.
Every woman dreams of being swept off her feet by a man, and this becomes all the more easier if the man is a great singer. A new study conducted by researchers from Texas A&M University found that male bats make for some of the sexiest and best romantic singers in the animal world. They first attract the females by vocalizing in a special way and then they change their tune entirely to keep the females entertained and interested.
Mike Smotherman, associate professor of biology and one of the country's leading authorities on bat behavior and his team studied recordings of thousands of Mexican free-tailed bats in and around the Texas A&M campus. Researchers were astounded at the speed at which these male bats attracted females during their mating season. Speed, Smotherman stated, was very essential in the attracting process among bats.
"These bats can fly very fast, almost 30 feet per second," explained Smotherman in a press release. "They only have about one-tenth of a second to get the females' attention. We learned that they use a very specific song to grab the female's attention as she flies by the roost. Once a bat joins their roost, the males mix up their songs, possibly to keep the females entertained long enough for mating to begin."
Most of the male bats' love songs are made of syllables and phrases which they use to create different singing style. Smotherman notes that bats are not the only animals that use love songs to attract the opposite sex. Other songbirds use the same technique. However, researchers point out that singing is rare among mammals.
"Most other animals rely upon visual cues to attract a mate, such as birds having brightly colored feathers," he added. "With bats, it's all about sounds, which may be why bats use singing more than other mammals."
