Dr. Ralph Simon

Cooperative behaviors and social interactions in the carnivorous bat Vampyrum spectrum Bats exhibit a diverse array of social behaviors, yet detailed studies on the intricacies of these interactions, particularly in rare species like the spectral bat (Vampyrum spectrum), remain scarce. ...

A rare glimpse into the secret social lives of these giants 🦇
Read the full study here: doi.org/10.1371/jour...

22.08.2025 09:51 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

Massive tropical bat is surprisingly family oriented, rare videos show New footage reveals spectral bats “hugging,” playing, and bringing food to their young

Spectral bats, the largest 🦇 in the Americas, aren’t just fierce carnivores with up to one meter wingspan. New research from @MarisaTietge from @berlinbatlab.bsky.social shows they hug, share food, play with bugs & huddle in “cuddle balls" doi.org/10.1126/scie...

22.08.2025 09:51 — 👍 2    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0

Wow – what an intense and truly amazing 6 days at @ibrc2025.bsky.social! 🦇
Reconnected with old friends, made new ones, and had incredible conversations — all in the spirit of bat conservation and research.
Huge shoutout to the organizers for a perfectly run event! 🙌💙
#BatCommunity #Grateful

08.08.2025 22:16 — 👍 5    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0

Kicking off the Education and Citizen Science symposium, Melissa Donnelly from Merlin Tuttle Bats talks about battling bat 🦇 misinformation & helping people make informed decisions @ibrc2025.bsky.social #ibrc2025

08.08.2025 03:42 — 👍 8    🔁 2    💬 1    📌 0

Just attended a very captivating and fun speed talk by Veli Monday Mdluli on bat education in South African schools 🦇📚 @ibrc2025.bsky.social
Inspiring work on breaking down prejudice through knowledge! 👏
#IBRC2025 #BatConservation #SciComm #EducationMatters

08.08.2025 04:59 — 👍 5    🔁 3    💬 0    📌 0

Two super nice talks from @berlinbatlab.bsky.social today @ibrc2025.bsky.social! @RaffaellaCastiglione
introduced an amazing touchscreen setup for bat cognition studies; @MarisaTietge explored the social complexity of Vampyrum spectrum, the largest bat in the Americas 🤩🦇
#BatsRule #IBRC2025

08.08.2025 04:35 — 👍 6    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0

If you happen to be at the @ibrc2025.bsky.social in Cairns, come by my talk tomorrow at 9:45 AM!
I’ll be speaking about self-medication in phyllostomid #bats and a new technique to identify individual bats by their wingprints.
Would love to see you there!
#IBRC2025 #BatResearch 🍈🦇

07.08.2025 03:24 — 👍 5    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0

Amazing start to the International Bat Research Conference in Cairns! 🦇 🇦🇺 So great to reconnect with my esteemed friend and colleague Merlin Tuttle - nothing beats sharing our passion for bats with fellow researchers from around the world. #IBRC2025 #BatResearch #BatConservation

04.08.2025 04:48 — 👍 6    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0

Today 10th of June at 4 PM Panama time, I'll be giving a Tupper talk @stri_panama on self-medication in bats. Curious? Join me online and discover what bats are up to when they are immune-challenged! 🍈🦇

smithsonian.zoom.us/j/8724629288...
Password: 438162; Webinar ID: 872 4629 2885

10.06.2025 07:28 — 👍 2    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0

We have excellent scientists in Europe, but well, good idea, the more, the merrier!

19.02.2025 15:10 — 👍 2    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

😢💔

30.01.2025 13:06 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

Use Apfelschorle then 😉😅

15.01.2025 09:29 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0

If anybody knows, what it could be, let me know!

26.11.2024 12:15 — 👍 2    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

Captured these stunning patterns created by #bioluminescent beetle larvae (likely from the tribe #Pyrophorini) using long time exposure. We found these tiny larvae (~1cm) on the ground in the rainforest while we were catching bats in the #Soberanía National Park! 🦇🐛🌴

26.11.2024 12:15 — 👍 5    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0

'Scientists for Scientists' Wartime Grant Brings Ukrainian Bat Biologists to Panama Over the last two years, staff at the Ukrainian Bat Rehabilitation Center have worked to save bats from the dangers of the Russian full-scale invasion. Now, they join researchers at the Smithsonian Tr...

Check out this story @smithsonianmag.bsky.social about our SELFCURE project, funded by the Human Frontiers Science Program with additional support from the EU Scientist4Scientist initiative, helping us integrate talented Ukrainian scientists into the project! 🇺🇦🦇🇵🇦
@stri_panama @bats_ukraine

16.11.2024 06:06 — 👍 5    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0