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A study on bats by Ohio State University experts was published in the scientific journal “Behavioral Ecology”.
By placing tiny receptors in a group of bats living in the hollow of a tree, the researchers observed how they socialized with each other.
As part of the study, the experts injected 16 bats with a substance called lipopolysaccharide, which makes their immune systems react temporarily as if they were sick to see if their behavior has changed.
There were a total of 31 bats in the tree and the remaining 15 bats received saline injections, which had no effect on their immune systems. Experts said no damage was done to the bats during the experiment.
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Scientists found that “sick” bats, whose immune systems were firing as if they were fighting an infection, on average associate with four fewer bats than healthy bats.
It has been noted that these bats do not want to participate in the grooming they do to socialize, they walk less and are seen as more sleepy than others.
These behavioral differences decreased six hours after the injection, while the bats slept or fed outdoors. After 48 hours, which is about 2 days, the effects of the injection disappeared completely and the bats started socializing again.
Therefore, it is claimed that bats are less likely to spread real viruses, as they spend less time with healthy bats when they are sick.
Simon Ripperger, head of the research team, described it as “passive social distancing” and said he believes it is more common in the animal kingdom than we thought.
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“Thanks to the buyers, a new window has been opened to see how the behavior of these bats changes from hour to minute, day and night, even as they hide in the darkness of a tree,” Ripperger said.
Passive social distance is compared to people who want to stay in bed instead of spending time with other people when they are not feeling well.
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