Ep. 35: Bat Ecology with Dr. Dana Green Part II

This free-flying conversation just couldn't be contained to a single hour.

Author

Plants Always Win
September 23, 2025

Dr. Dana Green, a.k.a. "The Eyepatch Biologist", is back for part two!

We plunge straight in this week with an urgent question: how do bats relieve themselves without dribbling on their own heads? From there the facts come thick and fast: microchiroptera (our local insect-eating, echolocating bats) vs. megachiroptera (bigger fruit-eating bats from other climates that don't echolocate); the truth about bats' sense of sight; and the unexpected songs of silverhair bats. Dana shares how to attract bats to our properties without welcoming them into our homes, and we delve into the devastating consequences of pesticide use in the ecosystem—and how to report it when you witness someone applying pesticides illegally.

Throughout the interview we also get some of Dana's opinions on the quality of bat representation in media, including Daredevil, Dungeons and Dragons, Batman and vampire books. The episode wraps up with a lightning round of facts, favourites, and myth busting—and a promise to bring Dana back for even more ecological eloquence in the future!

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Credits

Website Design and Illustration by Sophia Alladin

Intro and Outro Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/when-my-ukulele-plays
License code: GWOIMMBAS15FG6PH

Timestamps

00:12 Introduction
01:00 How do Bats Relieve Themselves?
01:58 Flying Foxes, or Megachiroptera, a Subgroup of Bats
03:30 Bats Aren't Blind
04:48 Echolocation Representation in Daredevil
06:00 Bats that Jam Each Other's Echolocation Signals
07:28 Singing Silverhair Bats
10:25 Creating Bat Habitat at Your Home
12:00 Pesticides in the Ecosystem
20:15 Lightning Round
20:28 Should We Be Concerned about Diseases in Bat?
20:46 Are Bats Attracted to Long Hair?
21:17 Do Bats Suck Blood? Should We Worry?
23:03 Do Bats Mate for Life? What's a Bat Leck?
23:48 Hammerhead Bats' Big Honkers
24:40 The World's Biggest Bat
26:00 The World's Smallest Bat
28:39 Cutest Bat Struggles
29:40 The World's Ugliest (and Wrinkliest) Bat
31:00 A Bat Scientist's Opinion on Batman
34:20 Great Bat Representation in Kids' Books and Movies
36:00 Dana's Love of Vampires
39:15 Find Dana Online
41:44 Outro and Contact Us