Lost Long-Eared Bat Found Hiding on British Island
Coming Out of Hiding The brown long-eared bat has been found on the Isles of Scilly (in the UK) for the first time in 40 years. Fiona Mathews/University of Exeter Good news for bats in Europe, if not the US: A species of bat thought to have disappeared from a British island chain 40 years ago has actually been hanging out all along, doing just fine despite habitat loss. Biologists found a pregnant female roosting in a pine tree, and say they might be able to improve the bats' living situation. The brown long-eared bat has enormous ears that stretch three-fourths the length of its entire body. This one is resting, so its ears are folded up. The animals use their superb hearing to listen for the otherwise imperceptible sound of caterpillars munching on leaves. They feed on caterpillars and moths, and the bats themselves are so muted that they...