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Greater mouse-eared bats are preyed upon by owls, but the owls themselves likely avoid hornets, for fear of getting stung. New research suggests that the bats take advantage of this fact, by buzzing like hornets to keep owls at bay.
Scientists have discovered that the animals imitate the behaviour of another more dangerous species to trick their foes
Mouse-eared bats make sounds like buzzing hornets, in an apparent attempt to avoid avian predation—a remarkable adaptation not previously seen in a mammal
The behavior is the first example of a mammal mimicking a more-dangerous species.
To avoid being snagged in the talons of a ravenous owl, the greater mouse-eared bat (Myotis myotis) mimics the intense buzz of an angry hornet and thus scares off its potential predators.