News Tips Subscribe Echolocation Bats navigate at night in search of food using a system called echolocation. They send out very high sounds, in the form of short bursts. The sounds are too high-pitched for human beings to hear. The sounds bounce off objects and return as echoes, helping the animals to determine the direction and distance of anything in their path.
Bats can detect and catch insects in the air.
If the sound bounces off a moth moving toward the bat, the note will rise. The extent of the shift depends on the moth's speed. Others shout their ultrasound through open mouths. This system of echolocation is similar to the sonar and radar systems developed by people for navigation under the sea and in the air. Copyright 2001 Courier-Post.