As a teen & young adult, the only magazine I ever subscribed to (and amassed quite a collection of) was National Geographic (NatGeo). Each month, the latest issue would arrive, and I would pore over it, marveling at the incredible photography and engrossing text and, perhaps more than anything, learning about the natural and cultural [...]
If you read the description of the work by LIM Kai Ning, my former honours student, then you know that work in my lab at NUS investigated the impacts of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs, or drones) on bats in Singapore (SG), and you know why it matters. Well, this summer, in NYC’s less restrictive landscape [...]
Back in 2019, at the International Bat Research Conference in Phuket, Thailand, I gave a talk on knowledge and views of bats among Singaporeans - the work of my honours student, Cheryl YIP. At the end of the talk, I said this was the pilot for a global study I was keen to do, and [...]
Of Singapore's 20+ bat species, perhaps none epitomises the urban denizen better than the dog-faced fruit bat (Cynopterus brachyotis). You can find this bat almost everywhere on the urbanisation gradient, and this bat seems to have adapted well to city life (notwithstanding the apparent genetic impacts of urbanisation) - including by adopting the behaviour of [...]
In a previous post, I laid to rest some common myths about bats. In another I highlighted a few things that make bats awesome. Indeed, bats are weird and wonderful and rather essential to ecosystems and human wellbeing. But here's the thing. They're in trouble. In 2020, 15 % of [...]
In an earlier post, I addressed myths about bats. Today, in honour of Bat Appreciation Day, I thought I'd write about some of the many reasons to not only learn more about bats, but also, well, appreciate them. TThere are nearly 6 400 described species of mammals living today, divided into 29 separate groups, [...]
No doubt about it, if you ask people to name their favourite animals, very few will answer ‘bats’. Indeed, they’re among the most maligned of all mammals. Many of my fellow bat biologists and I are used to people cringing when they find out that we study (and love) them. There are many myths [...]
