Merlin Tuttle

Merlin Devere Tuttle (born August 26, 1941) is an American zoologist, ecologist, and wildlife photographer. He is an expert on bats and the author of several popular books on bats. Quotes Populations of some North American insectivorous bats are known to have declined markedly in many areas over the past 20 years or more ... The causes and rates or extent of decline rarely are well documented. 10.2307/3800631 3800631 Status, Causes of Decline, and Management of Endangered Gray Bats January 1979 Tuttle Merlin D. The Journal of Wildlife Management 43 1 1–17 It's very simple: We fear most what we understand the least. Merin Tuttle shares bats with David Letterman June 2, 2015 Merlin Tuttle's Bat Conservation, YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6QnNDTNt-w (originally aired on November 27, 1984 — quote at 2:05 of 10:15) America's Neighborhood Bats (1988) More than 1,100 kinds of bats amount to approximately a quarter of all mammal species, and they are found everywhere except in the most extreme desert and polar regions. Some 47 species live in the United States and Canada, but the majority inhabit tropical forests where, in total number of species, they sometimes outnumber all other mammals combined.Bats come in an amazing variety of sizes and appearances. The world's smallest mammal, the Kitti's hog-nosed bat bumblebee bat of Thailand, weighs less than a Penny (United States coin) penny, but some Pteropus flying foxes of the Old World tropics have wingspans of up to 6 feet. The big-eyed, winsome expressions of flying foxes often surprise people who never have thought that a bat could be attractive. America's Neighborhood Bats: Understanding and Learning to Live in Harmony with Them 2nd revised University of Texas Press 2005 9780292712805 https://books.google.com/books?id=k_vAB0tUOc0C&pg=PA8 8 In Temperate climate temperate regions, cold winters force bats to migrate or Bat#Torpor hibernate. Most travel less than 300 miles to find a suitable cave or abandoned mine, where they remain for up to six months or more, surviving solely on stored fat reserves. However, several species are long-distance migrators, traveling from as far north as Canada to the Gulf Coast of the United States Gulf states or Mexico for the winter. A few species can survive short-term exposures to subfreezing temperatures, enabling them to overwinter in cliff faces or in the outer walls of buildings. quote from p. 9 The Secret Lives of Bats (2015) Bats are among the few true hibernators. The breathing of a hibernating bat is imperceptible. Its heartbeat drops from roughly 400 beats per minute when awake to about 25 in hibernation. The body temperature often falls to within a tenth of a degree of surrounding cave walls. https://books.google.com/?id=AseiCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA9 The Secret Lives of Bats: My Adventures with the World's Most Misunderstood Mammals 9780544382275 Tuttle Merlin D. 2015 9 My trap consisted of two six-by-five aluminum frames with hundreds of vertical fishing lines strung between them. It looked like a harp, but with adjustable legs to support it a few feet off the ground and a canvas bag hanging below to hold captured bats. This device, which I had recently invented, was capable of catching thousands of bats per night, enabling me to sample and release large numbers without harming them. quote from pages 20–21 External links Merlin Tuttle's Bat Conservation Website Merlin Tuttle's Photo Gallery of Bats Website Category:Ecologists Category:Zoologists from the United States Category:Photographers from the United States Category:1941 births Category:Living people Category:Scientists from Hawaii