Slow-Motion Proof That Bats Are Way More Graceful Than You Thought


You don’t think of a bat as being as graceful in the air as say an eagle or a hummingbird. After all, they look like mother nature just hacked some wings onto a rat. But thanks to the magic of high-speed photography, this bat’s mid-flight dining is more graceful than a performance of The Nutcracker.

This awesome footage was capture by researchers at Brown University studying the bat’s impressively long tongue that actually engorges with blood while dining so there’s more surface area to snag more nectar. The researchers are hoping to learn more about the mechanisms behind this as they could be beneficial in humans when it comes to keeping passages in the body open and clear during surgery. And, of course, getting every last drop of sugar water out of a can of soft drink. [Vimeo via Geekosystem]