Bat backpacks highlight hunting and diet preferences

When I step outside at dusk near my home, I'm often delighted by the sight of local bats wheeling around above my head as they emerge to feed. But what is a bat's ideal meal, and how do they balance different sources of food, particularly as environments come under pressure from climate change or human encroachment? Speaking to Chris Smith, Laura Stidsholt, who's at the Leibnitz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, has been studying one species of European bat by equipping them with backpacks that log where they go and what sounds they produce as they pursue and then tuck into different food choices…