Mexico's bat man on saving the ‘most unfairly treated animals on Earth'

CNN

3 days ago

EDITOR'S NOTE: Call to Earth is a CNN editorial series committed to reporting on the environmental challenges facing our planet, together with the solutions. Rolex's Perpetual Planet Initiative has partnered with CNN to drive awareness and education around key sustainability issues and to inspire positive action.
Bats have a bad reputation. Myths, folk tales, and negative media coverage mean people often link these flying mammals to vampires or blame them for disease outbreaks.
But bat populations around the world are in decline, and without them, ecosystems lose key benefits like pest control, pollination and seed dispersal.
Through education, research and advocacy, Rodrigo Medellín, a senior professor of ecology at the University of Mexico, has made it his mission to change the way people see these animals.
Medellín's fascination with bats began at the age of 13, when he held one in his hands for the first time. 'That's when I decided to dedicate my life to their study and protection,' he says. Since then, caves have become his happy place.
'The peace, the darkness, the silence apart from the bat squealing. I feel relaxed in a cave and all I do is I try to convey this feeling to the people that are with me,' says Medellín, who is part of the Rolex Perpetual Planet Initiative and has won multiple awards for his work. He also founded of the Latin American Network for Bat Conservation, and Global South Bats, a network of bat scientists.
There are over 1,400 bat species, which account for around a fifth of all known mammal species across the globe. They are the only mammals capable of powered flight, rather than just gliding, which allowed them to spread across the globe. They use highly developed echolocation to navigate and find prey at night, with some able to sense objects as small as human hair.
Although certain species live for over 30 years, bats reproduce slowly – typically one pup per year. This makes it difficult for populations to recover from decline.
'They are very mysterious. Many people fear them, attack them, or despise them. They are probably the most unfairly treated animals on Earth,' says Medellín.
Bats are often seen as symbols of evil and darkness, largely due to their association with vampires and the supernatural in Western folklore. Throughout history in Christian Europe, the bat has been associated with the devil, evil spirits, and witches.
Eastern cultures tend to view them much more positively. For instance, in Chinese culture, they are considered symbols of luck and happiness.
Still, the perception of bats has worsened with the emergence of Covid-19, which some believe originated in bats and they are often viewed negatively due to their association with diseases.
'Bats are certainly not fuller of diseases than your dog or cat. That has been horribly exaggerated,' Medellín explains.
One of the most impactful services bats provide is pest control. Medellín notes that just one species along Mexico's northern borders numbers up to 30 million individuals, collectively devouring about 300 tons of insects every night.
But they do much more than keep insects in check. Fruit-eating bats play a crucial role in spreading seeds as they fly long distances in search for food.
'By dropping seeds far from the parent tree, they help regenerate forests, maintain plant diversity, and support the life cycles of countless other organisms. The restoration of forests relies very heavily on bats,' Medellín says.
Bats are also key pollinators for a wide range of plants, according to Medellín, including agave, the plant used to make tequila.
Despite their critical ecological roles, populations worldwide face many challenges, most of which are caused by human activity. Habitat loss, wind turbines, pesticide use, and most recently, white nose syndrome – a fungal disease – have all taken a serious toll. As a result, many species are now listed as endangered or threatened.
'Imagine what happens if we lose bats overnight,' Medellín says. 'Without them, crops would be ravaged by hungry insects, and mosquito populations would surge, drastically changing our way of life.'
He is committed to convincing people that bats are important for their everyday wellbeing and believes that greater awareness could transform attitudes and turn fear into fascination.
Through initiatives like bat-friendly agave farming, long-distance migration tracking and international conservation networks, he's working to protect bat populations while highlighting their role in pollination, pest control and ecosystem health.
'I give people facts, images, evidence, and automatically they fall in love with bats,' he says. 'In my experience, anyone who had any contact with bats maintains that contact and starts expanding it.'
'If there is anybody who is still afraid of bats, I would like to invite you to learn a bit more,' he adds. 'They are going to win your heart.'