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S39E13

The Bat Man of Mexico

Premiere: 6/30/2021 | 0:30 |

An ecologist tracks the lesser long-nosed bat’s epic migration across Mexico, braving hurricanes, snakes and seas of cockroaches, in order to save the species and the tequila plants they pollinate.

About the Episode

Since ecologist Rodrigo Medellin first kept bats in his bathroom as a child, he has dedicated his life to saving them. Now Mexico’s most famous export, tequila, is at stake. Medellin’s beloved lesser long-nosed bat is crucial to the liquor – it pollinates the plants the drink is made from. To save these bats from extinction, Medellin must track the bats’ epic migration across Mexico, braving hurricanes, snakes and seas of cockroaches. Sprinkling harmless UV dust on bats and following their glowing guano across the desert, Medellin devises innovative methods to conserve Mexico’s bat population. Narrated by David Attenborough.

Buzzworthy Moments:

  • More than three million bats live in the caves of Calakmul. To avoid being eaten, they form a living tornado when they fly. In this whirling mass, it’s almost impossible for their predators to choose a target.
  • To track the migration patterns and distances of the lesser long-nosed bats, Medellin coats the bats he catches in harmless UV dust, which they lick off and digest. The glowing dust passes through their system, and by tracking the glowing bat droppings, he can prove how far they’ve flown. This is a method used when tracker technology is unavailable.
  • Medellin sets up remote cameras in a bat “nursery.” Bats synchronize their births so that a colony’s newborns all arrive over the course of 2-3 weeks. The camera catches a mother giving birth – the first time this behavior has been filmed.

Noteworthy Facts:

  • There are more than 1,200 species of bats in the world.
  • Bats are the main pollinators of agave plants. Tequila is obtained through the distillation of juices from agaves. More than a quarter billion liters of tequila were exported from Mexico in 2020.
  • For centuries, bats were hated in Mexico because of their association with evil. People would hunt them down and kill them, burning them in their caves. In the early nineties, their populations crashed, with the lesser long-nosed bats facing extinction.
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PRODUCTION CREDITS

NARRATED BY
DAVID ATTENBOROUGH

DIRECTED BY
TOM MUSTILL

PRODUCED BY
PETER FISON

PHOTOGRAPHY
GEORGE WOODCOCK

ADDITIONAL CAMERA
JAMES ALDRED
AMY COOPER

AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY
TAO AHLER
JENS BO FRAEK

EDITOR
SABRINA BURNARD

ORIGINAL MUSIC
MICHAEL KRUK
MAX BAILLIE
JOHN TIMOTHY BURTON

COLORIST
PETER LYNCH

ONLINE EDITOR
ANDREW MITCHELL

DUBBING MIXER
BOB JACKSON

GRAPHICS
DANNY CARR

SPECIALIST RESEARCHERS
MARINA RIVERO
CLEMENTINE ST JOHN WEBSTER
CECILIA VARGAS

LINE PRODUCER
CHERRY DORRETT

SPECIAL THANKS
BEJKAX HA KANTEMÓ S. C. DE R. L.
CENTRO EXPERIMENTAL LAS MARGARITAS, INIFAP
CLEMENTINA EQUIHUA
FAMILIA ORTEGA
FLIR SYSTEMS
INSTITUTO NACIONAL DE ANTROPOLOGÍA E HISTORIA
INSTITUTO DE ECOLOGÍA, UNAM
NATURA Y ECOSISTEMAS MEXICANOS A. C.
PROGRAM FOR CONSERVATION OF MEXICAN BATS
THE NATIONAL COMMISSION OF PROTECTED NATURAL AREAS (CONANP)
NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ECOLOGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE (INECC)
THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES (SEMARNAT)
WHITLEY FUND FOR NATURE

ARCHIVE
BBC MOTION GALLERY
LASSE HAYNES

FOR THE BBC

PRODUCTION COORDINATOR
CASSY WALKLING

PRODUCTION MANAGER
WENDHY SIERRA

SERIES EDITOR
ROGER WEBB

FOR WINDFALL FILMS WEST

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
DAVID DUGAN

FOR NATURE

SERIES EDITOR
JANET HESS

SENIOR PRODUCER
LAURA METZGER LYNCH

COORDINATING PRODUCER
JAYNE YOON JUNG JUN

ASSOCIATE PRODUCER
JAMES F. BURKE

LEGAL COUNSEL
BLANCHE ROBERTSON

DIGITAL LEAD
DANIELLE STEINBERG

ASSOCIATE PRODUCER – DIGITAL
AMANDA SCHMIDT

SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR
KAREN HO

AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT
CHELSEY SAATKAMP

BUDGET CONTROLLER
JAYNE LISI

ONLINE EDITOR
STACEY DOUGLASS MOVERLEY

RE-RECORDING MIXER
JON BERMAN

ORIGINAL EPISODE PRODUCTION FUNDING PROVIDED IN PART BY
COLIN S. EDWARDS

ORIGINAL SERIES PRODUCTION FUNDING PROVIDED IN PART BY
CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING 
ARNHOLD FOUNDATION
THE FAIRWEATHER FOUNDATION
KATE W. CASSIDY FOUNDATION
SUE AND EDGAR WACHENHEIM III
KATHY CHIAO AND KEN HAO
FILOMEN M. D’AGOSTINO FOUNDATION
CHARLES ROSENBLUM
LILLIAN GOLDMAN CHARITABLE TRUST
SANDRA ATLAS BASS

SERIES PRODUCER
BILL MURPHY

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
FRED KAUFMAN

A WINDFALL FILMS WEST PRODUCTION FOR BBC AND ANIMAL PLANET 
THIS PROGRAM WAS PRODUCED BY THIRTEEN PRODUCTIONS LLC, WHICH IS SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ITS CONTENT.

© 2014 BBC
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL © 2021 THIRTEEN PRODUCTIONS LLC
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

FUNDING

Support for Nature: The Bat Man of Mexico is provided by the Arnhold Foundation, The Fairweather Foundation, Kate W. Cassidy Foundation, Sue and Edgar Wachenheim III, Kathy Chiao and Ken Hao, Filomen M. D’Agostino Foundation, Charles Rosenblum, Lillian Goldman Charitable Trust, Sandra Atlas Bass, Colin S. Edwards, by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and by PBS.

TRANSCRIPT

Mexico is home to a great variety of life.

It's also home to tequila.

Without a special bat, there would be no tequila.

And this bat is in terrible danger, but it has a defender who has devoted 20 years to save it.

'Because of what I do, they call me the batman.'

Find out if he's achieved what many thought impossible: saving the tequila bats from extinction.