Customer Reviews

A Bat Man in the Tropics: Chasing El Duende (Organisms and Environments)

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You'd have to be bats not to enjoy this book! I had the opportunity to take at least one course from Prof. Brock Fenton, a Canadian Batman, back in the 80's, and have been very keen on these unique winged mammals ever since. Dr Fleming is a senior biologist, who perks up his accounts of the scientific value of investigating bats with stories of the rigours of field work. This is not an overview of bats around the world, but a personal recounting of the trials and triumphs he and his family encountered while studying animals in the wild. I was particularly amused by the orphaned Australian fruit bats that they adopted.

Interestingly, Dr Fleming didn't start out as a bat specialist, but, as often happens, lucked into this work after doing a survey of Panamanian mammals for the Smithsonian (read: bring 'em back dead). The change in emphasis to behavioural studies, and the advances in equipment that made more and more delicate observations possible, are fascinating to read. How would we know about altruistic behaviour in vampire bats, or the dependence of many plants on bat pollination and fruit-eating, if people like Dr Fleming didn't passionately want to study these animals? Yet, it still comes down to many, many tedious hours of watching, recording and number-crunching, nicely edited for publication.

As a fellow Albion College alum and field driven evolutionary biologist, this book was a read that hit home. Ted Flemming writes in a clear tone that brings you with him into the field. My cohorts had mixed reactions to this book. The field biologists all had similar anecdotal stories and were excited by this book, while the medical biology and other non field biologists had a tough time understanding and appreciating the results of Flemming's hardships. It is good to see this book being used in undergraduate courses, but unfortunate that the "forced" nature of it being an assigned read may turn some people off before opening it. A reader intrigued by Flemming's field exploits may also consider reading "Mean and Lowly Things" by Kate Jackson.

I'm reading this for my Biology class and I have to say that it is an enjoyable read compared to the many textbooks and other books I have to read this semester. The author really brings you into his world of a biologist and doesn't get too technical while doing it. Definitely would recommend.