\nbats<\/a> mid-flight to eat. This behaviour was filmed on infrared and thermal imaging cameras at two major urban bat colonies in northern Germany.<\/p>\n
They monitored bats at two hibernation sites in the towns of Segeberg and L\u00fcneburg-Kalkberg over several months between 2020 and 2024.<\/p>\n
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\u201cOur observations show how adaptable and skillful [brown] rats are in exploiting food resources in urban ecosystems, while highlighting a conservation issue linked to invasive mammals,\u201d lead author Florian Gloza-Rausch, a biologist at the Museum of Natural History in Berlin, said in a statement. \u201cTo our knowledge, this type of rat behaviour has not previously been documented scientifically.\u201d<\/p>\n
Findings of the study<\/p>\n
The videos revealed two distinct hunting styles. Some rats stood straight, using their tails for balance as they clutched the bats out of the air. Others attacked the bats when they were on the ground.<\/p>\n
At Bad Segeberg, a cave located near a busy open-air theatre, researchers captured the footage of brown rats hunting bats as they entered and exited the cave on 30 occasions. This site is used for winter roost by more than 30,000 bats.<\/p>\n
The team found 13 confirmed kills over five weeks. As many as 52 bat remains were also located, some of which had not yet been fully eaten.<\/p>\n
\u201cRats were frequently observed patrolling the landing platform at the cave entrance,\u201d the researchers wrote. \u201cThey were standing upright on their hind legs, using their tails for balance and raising their forelegs to intercept flying bats. Individuals were documented capturing bats mid-air, killing them immediately with a bite and dragging them away.\u201d<\/p>\n
The videos revealed two distinct hunting styles used by rats. Image Courtesy: Gloza-Rausch et al., Global Ecology and Conservation, 2025<\/p>\n
All the kills were recorded in the darkness of night. Scientists suspect the rats detected the bats by feeling them with their whiskers or by sensing the air currents from the bats\u2019 wings, owing to their poor eyesight.<\/p>\n
At the L\u00fcneburg site, situated in a public park, researchers did not find any successful hunts. However, they found many carcasses that indicated the rats were also hunting bats there.<\/p>\n
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