The Secret Lives of Bats

My Adventures with the World's Most Misunderstood Mammals

By: Merlin Tuttle

Narrated by: Sean Runnette

A lifetime of adventures with bats around the world reveals why these special and imperiled creatures should be protected rather than feared.

From menacing moonshiners and armed bandits to charging elephants and man-eating tigers, Merlin Tuttle has stopped at nothing to find and protect bats on every continent they inhabit. Enamored of bats ever since discovering a colony in a cave as a boy, Tuttle saw how effective photography could be in persuading people not to fear bats, and he has spent his career traveling the world to document them.

Tuttle shares research showing that frog-eating bats can identify frogs by their calls, that vampire bats have a social order similar to that of primates, and that bats have remarkable memories. Bats also provide enormous benefits by eating crop pests, pollinating plants, and carrying seeds needed for reforestation. They save farmers billions of dollars annually and are essential to a healthy planet.

Sharing highlights from a lifetime of adventure and discovery, Tuttle takes us to the frontiers of bat research and conservation and forever changes the way we see these poorly understood yet fascinating creatures.

©2015 Merlin Tuttle (P)2021 Tantor

Great Information.

This well-written book contains tons of information about bats, the benefits they provide to the environment and crops (pollination), and how different species live. The story also dispels lot of common myths. I also admire the author's ability to point out his own errors and how he learned from them.

the narrator was great in the beginning, but in the last few chapters he read more slowly and with less enthusiasm and energy.

Interesting info and adventures about bats

Loved learning more about bats and the authors' adventures in conservation efforts. After a while his stories about bat photography started sounding a little formulaic (rare bat is difficult to capture + they catch and photograph one against the odds). The narrator was weirdly calm the whole time--it was fine but I would have preferred more expressiveness. Overall I really enjoyed this listen.

Fascinating!

Loved it, got online to see the pictures and they’re phenomenal. Apparently I need more words so here they are.

Great book! Great work to help bars

My only lament is some of the dated and culturally insensitive language written from a white male perspective that creeps in at times. Likely just showing it’s age.

Dr. Tuttle’s adventures saving bats is amazing!

Highly recommend this book. Dr. Merlin Tuttle relives his 60 or so years of studying and advocating for bats. Highly entertaining and stories that rival some Indiana Jones tales. I have bought three paperback copies for my classroom. Wish he would publish more.