Todd Borgie reporting from Cape Tribulation, Australia: The Bat House   Have you ever scratched the belly of a Bat? Not all bats like their bellies scratched, but spectacled flying foxes do! Spectacled flying foxes are called “macro bats” and are more similar to monkeys than to the bats that we think of when we hear the name “Dracula.” Dr. Hugh Spencer taught us about macro bats today. We were all surprised as we walked into a cage of the furry creatures; it was not what we were expecting! About a dozen furry creatures hanging upside down were calling to us.  Dr. Spencer knew each one by name. These creatures feed on flower blossoms, nectar, fruit, and leaves. As opposed to micro bats, these bats do not have sonar; they have tremendous eyesight. Dr. Spencer said these creatures could read a newspaper from across the room, that is if they knew how read. When these bats are born, the fly on the their mother’s back for about two weeks. In the wild, they live about eight years, and in captivity, they live about 20 years. These bats live in colonies of up to 100 bats, and at breeding time, colonies can merge to where there can be thousands of bats in one location. At the research station, Dr. Spencer is studying these bats, primarily were they go and hang out. His team has developed special collars that are fitted to the bats. These collars are able to track information about where the bat goes during day or night. These collars weigh about 50 grams and can store information on up to 90,000 different locations. Macro bats are only one aspect of the eco-system on Cape Tribulation in Australia. Learning about these bats will help us understand how we can live peacefully together and how we can better preserve the animal populations on our planet. Do you have a questions about Macro bats?