Sick Bats Observe Social Distancing Naturally to Avoid Spreading Diseases

The Covid-19 epidemic gave birth to terms like 'lockdown,' 'isolation,' and social distance,' which have since become commonplace in social situations all throughout the world. Bats, it appears, maintain social distance as well, which may aid in the prevention of infectious illnesses in their colonies.

Researchers from Tel Aviv University show that sick bats, like sick humans, prefer to stay away from their groups, most likely as a means of rehabilitation and potentially also to protect others, in a new study published in Annals of the New York Academy of Science. Dr. Kelsey Moreno, a postdoctoral researcher and Ph.D. candidate Maya Weinberg worked in Yossi Yovel's lab at the George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences. Prof. Yossi Yovel is the Head of the Sagol School of Neuroscience and a researcher in the School of Zoology.

Studying Fruit Bats

The study followed two Egyptian fruit bats, one in captivity and the other in their natural habitat. First, the researchers injected several bats in each group with a bacteria-like protein, which stimulated their immune response without putting the bats in any danger. Then, the 'sick' bats' behavior was followed using GPS after tests indicated symptoms such as high fever, tiredness, and weight loss.

Avoiding the Colony

The sick bats preferred to avoid the colony, according to the researchers. They exited the bat cluster on their own and kept their distance in the first group. The 'sick' bats in the second group similarly went away from the other bats in the colony, stayed in the colony for two nights, and did not go out in search of food.

Social Distancing

Maya Weinberg, a research student, notes that this social distancing tendency is likely motivated by a desire to preserve energy by avoiding the group's energy-draining social contacts. However, as Weinberg points out, this response can also safeguard the colony by preventing the disease from spreading.

Preventing a Spread

Furthermore, because sick bats do not leave the cave, the disease does not spread to neighboring colonies. "The bats' decision to avoid the group is rare for these creatures. Normally, these bats are very gregarious creatures which live in caverns with a lot of other bats, "Weinberg agrees. "Indeed, the sick bats' behavior is eerily similar to our own after recovering from sickness. When humans are unwell, we prefer to stay at home quietly beneath a blanket, and sick bats in crowded caverns want solitude and serenity while they recover."

Prof Yovel says that the study's findings imply that the chances of bats transferring infections to people under normal circumstances are extremely low because sick bats tend to isolate themselves and stay in the cave. "We discovered that when bats are sick, they avoid mingling with other bats by staying away from the colony and not leaving the cave. This shows that people must first invade or destroy the bats' natural environment to come across a sick bat. To put it another way, if we look after them, they will look after us."

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Tags Bats, fruit bats, disease, social distancing