NEW YORK: A new study has revealed that vampire bats adopt social distancing from groupmates in their roost when they are sick.
Earlier studies had shown that animals distance themselves from others when they are sick. Researchers recently conducted an experiment to confirm this in the wild. A study published in Behavioral Ecology this week found that wild vampire bats naturally distance themselves from other bats in such situations.
Researchers said, “In certain social insects, sick ones might self-isolate voluntarily or be excluded by their colony mates,” adding, “This sickness-induced social distancing does not require cooperation from others and is probably common across species.”
According to the research, a group of were captured from a hollow tree in Belize, some were injected with an immune-challenging substance to simulate sickness while the other half received a placebo.
“Researchers then glued sensors to the sick bats to track their movements before being released back into the tree for observation,” the publication said.
The study informed that the sick bats, during the six-hour observation, had spent less time with the healthy bats reminding the people that medical experts were suggesting the same to people to observe social distancing.
“Compared to healthy bats, the sick ones had an average of four fewer associations, and their socialising was 25 minutes less,” the publication added.
The study further informed that the healthy bats showed a 49% likelihood of associating with others, while the sick bats had a 35% chance of spending time near another bat.
“The sensors gave us an amazing new window into how the social behaviour of these bats changed from hour to hour and minute to minute. Even while they are hidden in the darkness of a hollow tree,” the study added.
