Baturday News is a weekly blog written by Rachael, a high school student, bat advocate, and Save Lucy volunteer. Rachael’s interest in bats was sparked by the big brown bats that used the outside of her former home for a winter roost. Rachael has been writing the Baturday News for over three years.

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a good week! I sure did! Yesterday was the last day of school! I’m freeeeeeeeee! And what better way to celebrate no more school than bat watching! Last night, I went outside and there were 3 bats flying around! They were the first little furry friends to visit me this year and I was very happy to see them. I tried to get a video of one of them circling and looking for nice juicy bugs to eat, but it was too dark for my camera. I hope I get to see more little bats over the summer.

In the world of bat news, I found an interesting article. It’s actually an old article, but it was new to me.  Scientists were studying what came first; bats’ ability to fly or their ability to echolocate. They studied bat fossils that were approximately 52-million years old. Two of these fossils were of the species Onychonycteris finneyi, which is the most primitive known bat species.

This bat could fly, but it did not have the necessary adaptations to echolocate. So, while I cannot answer the “chicken or egg” question, I can answer the “flight or echolocation” question. It looks like flight came first.

If you would like to read this article, you can find it here.