Researchers have discovered that echolocating bats have an acoustic cognitive map of their home range, allowing them to navigate over long distances in complete darkness using echolocation. This groundbreaking finding challenges previous understanding of bat navigation abilities. In a study with Kuhl’s pipistrelle bats, weighing only 6 grams, 95% were able to return to their roosts using echolocation alone, while vision further enhanced their navigation skills. Bats utilize environmental features with distinctive acoustic cues as landmarks to create an acoustic mental map of their home range. The research, published in Science, sheds light on the impressive navigation skills of these tiny animals.
https://phys.org/news/2024-10-echolocating-acoustic-cognitive.html