The National Geographic Story, “Call of the Bloom”
The National Geographic story “Call of the Bloom” has been four years in the making, but it’s finally published! It was conceived in 2010 when Merlin and I heard Ralph Simon, from the University of Ulm, in Germany, present his doctoral research at the 15th International Bat Research Conference, held in Prague. Merlin was immediately fascinated […]
To Know Bats Is to Love Them
“To Know Bats Is to Love Them” is a short Q&A piece in National Geographic Daily News with Merlin by science writer Susan McGrath, recounting highlights from his life’s experiences studying and conserving bats. It also addresses recent threats from exaggerated media reporting of diseases potentially associated with bats. Check it out and thanks in […]
Rebuttal of Exaggerated Disease Claims Published in New Scientist, 2/8/14
Case Closed–No further action needed. Subsequent stories about bats have been greatly improved, mostly positive. Thank you Bat Fans for your participation. May 24, 2016
Northern Ghost Bat
Merlin went to Costa Rica last week, with hopes to photograph a Northern ghost bat (Diclidurus albus) roosting beneath a palm frond. Researchers rarely have been able to capture these bats, and almost nothing is known about them. More than 45 years ago, while leading a Smithsonian expedition on Venezuela’s Rio Mavaca, Merlin discovered that […]