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How do bats use echolocation?

You've no doubt heard the expression "blind as a bat", and might have even assumed it to be an accurate one. Since bats are largely nocturnal creatures, we tend to assume that they have poor to non-existent eyesight, but the truth is a little more complex than that. In order to understand how bats use echolocation to "see" their surroundings, we first need to determine the state of their eyes.

So, are bats blind?

In spite of common assumptions, no, bats aren't blind at all. Their eyes are differently developed than those of a human, or another animal, but that does not make the bat blind. Because of a bat's nocturnal nature, its eyes have in time adapted to very poor illumination. They do not see the way we do, in the daytime, because they don't need to. Bats are usually sleeping at that point in the day. What they do need to see, however, are obstacles and prey as they soar through the sky in the pitch black. So of course, it stands to reason that their eyes have developed an extreme sensitivity to light, but also an extremely keen vision in the darkness.

So if you look at it like that, bats can actually see things in the night much better than a human would. So to answer the question, no, bats aren't blind. But their eyesight is indeed different, and to aid their navigation through the darkness, their bodies developed a fascinating ability to communicate through echolocation.

What is echolocation?

Echolocation is this almost unbelievable process through which some animals are capable of detecting objects and other animals in their environment by the echoes those things/creatures emit. It is the ability to pinpoint something in space by paying attention to the sounds and waves that something gives out, and it's a common method by which some animals stay safe and thrive within their group.

What animals rely on echolocation?

Echolocation is a common practice for some aquatic creatures, such as dolphins or whales, but also for some birds, shrews, and indeed, bats. All of these animals use the process of echolocation to orient themselves in space.

How do bats use echolocation?

Bats use their mouths or noses (depending on the particular species of bat) to let out these extremely high-pitched screeches and cries, too high for a human ear to pick up on them, but just enough for another bat to. These noises, depending on the frequency, alert the other bats of the first bat's location. This helps them keep their place inside a colony, as it soars through the sky, and also helps them avoid collisions in the air.

The second bat's ears pick up on the signal, and within a matter of seconds, its brain judges the location and the message sent by the first bat and correctly determines the right course of action. The practice of echolocation allows bats to avoid an impressively large amount of hits and accidents.

But that's not all that echolocation is used for. Bats also rely on echolocation to "see" their environment. By paying attention to the echoes emitted by certain objects in space, they manage to accurately locate obstacles in their path and avoid them. They also use echolocation to figure out the location of prey, when out on a hunt.

Why can bats do this?

While experts are still a tad unclear on the matter, it is believed that bats developed this ability to echolocate as a result of their nocturnal lifestyle. Some think that their ability to "see" with their ears has directly influenced their alleged poor eyesight, but scientists doubt that to be the case. If anything, bats' ability to echolocate came afterward, so there's probably little to no connection there.