Echolocation allows creatures to move around in pitch darkness, so they can navigate, hunt, identify friends and enemies, and avoid obstacles. Bats are not the only species that uses echolocation. For dolphins and toothed whales, this technique enables them to see in muddy waters or dark ocean depths, and may even have evolved so that they can chase squid and other deep-diving species. Another intriguing possibility is humans – many blind people can find their way around simply by listening to echoes bouncing off surrounding objects. Scientists have been experimenting to see if humans can use technology to emulate nature’s use of ultrasonic sound to create assistive devices for the blind.

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I’m Batman
What flies through the night, silently guarding and protecting our world from evil? Batman? Try...a bat. Like Batman, bats are widely misunderstood and vilified. Amy Wray disproves the myth that bats are dangerous villains and explains why they, instead, deserve a hero's welcome -- and our protection.

How do animals see in the dark?
To human eyes, the world at night is a formless canvas of grey. Many nocturnal animals, on the other hand, experience a rich and varied world, bursting with details, shapes, and colors. What is it, then, that separates moths from men? Anna Stöckl uncovers the science behind night vision.

Inside the minds of animals
Do animals think? It’s a question that has intrigued scientists for thousands of years, inspiring them to come up with different methods and criteria to measure the intelligence of animals. Bryan B Rasmussen navigates through this controversial question, showing how determining intelligence often says more about how humans think than about anything else.

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