Speciation Book Club: Secret Lives of Bats by Merlin Tuttle

Speciation has a book club! We read Nature nonfiction books, and have a casual discussion for about an hour. We meet every two months, giving you plenty of time to read the book. Generally, we pick books around 300 pages long. If you are interested in joining us, just read the book and pop into the next meeting! This month’s book is Secret Lives of Bats by Merlin Tuttle A lifetime of adventures with bats around the world reveals why these special and imperiled creatures should be protected rather than feared. From menacing moonshiners and armed bandits to charging elephants and man-eating tigers, Merlin Tuttle has stopped at nothing to find and protect bats on every continent they inhabit. Enamored of bats ever since discovering a colony in a cave as a boy, Tuttle saw how effective photography could be in persuading people not to fear bats, and he has spent his career traveling the world to document them. Few people realize how sophisticated and intelligent bats are. Tuttle shares research showing that frog-eating bats can identify frogs by their calls, that vampire bats have a social order similar to that of primates, and that bats have remarkable memories. Bats also provide enormous benefits by eating crop pests, pollinating plants, and carrying seeds needed for reforestation. They save farmers billions of dollars annually and are essential to a healthy planet. Sharing highlights from a lifetime of adventure and discovery, Tuttle takes us to the frontiers of bat research and conservation and forever changes the way we see these poorly understood yet fascinating creatures.