- I just learned how to hold a bat correctly.
This is what they do to learn more
about the different species that live
in this region.
They're nervous.
We're told to not hold them for very long.
It's easy to forget that the nocturnal world is teeming
with wildlife.
Night creatures like bats are key
to the environment's survival,
but their mysterious lives and our fear
of them have kept bats on the edge
of conservation efforts.
How can we preserve the wild habitats we love
if we ignore the darker side of the planet?
Many bat species are endangered,
yet few people know why they matter.
National Geographic and Rolex are sending me
across Mexico to investigate the link bats have
to humans and what average citizens can do
to help them.
My first stop is the Calakmul Biosphere.
The birthplace of an ancient Maya empire
that revered bats and home to one
of the country's densest bat populations.
My journey begins with Begona and Daniela,
two researchers
taking me to a family
of leaf-nosed bats that live in an ancient Maya temple.
Threatened by shrinking jungle,
ruins like these are their last refuge.
Damp and high up, the temples
of Calakmul provide leaf-nosed bats
with a safe environment, far from human threats
like habitat destruction and vandalism.
Wow, beautiful.
The nose.
Wow.
A keystone species, bats indicate the health
of an ecosystem.
They keep insect populations in check,
pollinate plants, and disperse seeds
across large areas.
Seen as a symbol of fertility, ancient Maya revered bats,
endowing them with a mystical status.
As dusk settles, we wait at the mouth
of a Volcan de las Murcielagos, known as the bat volcano.
Sacred to the Maya, it was believed
to be an entrance to the underworld.
Right now, there is around four million bats
leaving the cave and going up in a spiral.
They're gonna spread all over.
What's so amazing about this is the sound.
(inspirational music)
They feast on millions of insects,
making the environment habitable.
I can see why the Maya revered them.
But Begona and Daniela warn me
that the bat populations are plummeting,
and one of their biggest threats is human persecution.
To understand why, I traveled to Tepoztlan
to meet the world authority on bats,
Dr. Rodrigo Medellin.
- We are taking you into the real home
of the one and only mating cave
of a Mexican long-nosed bat.
We need to use infrared light all along.
Be as little disturbance as you can be.
- [Alexandra] Feeding on nectar,
the Mexican long-nosed bat
is a migrating species closely tied
to the seasonal flowering of plants.
Due to recent climate changes, having no food source,
many are starving to death.
- [Rodrigo] Two or three times
I have witnessed a very sad view,
which is, walking into the cave
and finding the floor of the cave completely covered
with the bones of baby bats.
- [Alexandra] As a result of modern myth
and pop culture, bats have become synonymous
with vampires and the devil.
This has led to the vandalism and destruction
of their caves.
- And what you can see here is not a toy.
It's a real altar to the devil.
So people come and do ceremonies
and things here for the devil.
Unfortunately, they are endangered
because people destroy their caves,
so the numbers have dropped heavily
over the past years.
- [Alexandra] Rodrigo's dispelling these myths
by changing common perceptions
of bats from demonic villains to ecological superheroes.
- There's three main ecosystem services,
or benefits that we get from bats.
Pest control, seed dispersal,
and the third service is pollination.
Without bats, we wouldn't have any crop.
Mexicans have a very tight link.
The spirit that really designates part
of our identity is connected to bats.
You drank coffee or tea in the morning,
you have a link to bats.
You're eating your tortilla corn here,
you have a link to bats.
Or you're drinking your tequila.
Guess what?
You have a drink to bats.
The Maya really had the right idea.
These bats do a lot for us.
- [Alexandra] Species like the long-nosed bats travel
from places like the Devil's Cave
to Oaxaca to pollinate one of Mexico's most important crops,
agave, the plant used to make tequila
and mezcal.
Mezcal is at the heart of the Oazacan culture
and economy.
Agava shortages and a rise
in demand for mezcal are posing a compounded threat
to bats.
Agavas must be harvested before they flower,
leaving no food for the bats who rely
on pollinating them.
I've come here to meet Graciela,
a fourth generation mezcal producer.
She harvests in a bio-dynamic manner,
leaving a portion to be fertilized
by bats, making her mezcal bat friendly
and supporting the symbiotic relationship
between the animal and the plants.
Bats have suffered from being misunderstood
and ignored.
Bat friendly distilleries help shed light
on the connection between bats
and people.
But what bats need the most is
to be championed for what they are,
unseen heroes.
(gentle music)