The elusive Hazel Dormouse (Muscardinus avellanarius) shows off its tree climbing skills. The following video footage of a Hazel Dormouse in a Devon woodland was filmed over a few consecutive nights in August by Matt Raven www.ravenquest.co.uk
Devon Dormouse | The arboreal acrobat
Posted in:
Biodiversity, Dormouse, Protected Species
Date posted: 26 September 2015
Gleaning bats use acoustic shadows to detect insect prey
Posted in:
Bats, Biodiversity, Dormouse, Research
Date posted: 25 August 2015
Scientists from QMUL and the University of Bristol have found that, instead of searching for prey directly, certain neotropical bat species have an intimate knowledge a their home environment. This includes a detailed acoustic profile of individual leaves! When an insect lands on a familiar leaf, the normal echoes are interrupted. This creates an "acoustic shadow", which provides a very strong signal to the hunting bat (previous studies had concluded that these bats must detect prey by sight, smell and sound).