SciShow Talk Show: Ellen Whittle on Bats, and Carlos the Sinaloan Milk Snake

[@-cosmicrogue-]

One of the most mesmerizing things to do at night is watch bats hunt insects. I live on a farm in Kentucky and during summer I like to watch big brown bats swoop and dive at insects flying around my telephone pole. They are unbelievably fast and agile- they seem to teleport in and out of existence because they are so hard to follow with the human eye.

[@Chondritica]

Don't mind this dumbass, it just amazes me how stupid people can be. But yes I do agree with you, watching them fly around and hunt insects is memorizing.

[@Chondritica]

Woops, auto correct on mesmerizing...

[@missmcinnes]

Slippery Monkeys Slippery Why are you even watching this channel with such a closed mind? Try to be more awesome.

[@Randomness65535]

missmcinnes You're getting trolled my friend.

[@0Beyonder0]

***** Your clearly don't seem to understand the meaning of "being trolled''. So many dimwits on the internet using terms they think they understand.

[@theyxaj]

Ellen is so awesome! I'd love to see more of her work.

[@OrUptotheStars]

I like this episode. Bring in more students to discuss their thesis...thesieses...thesi...thesis projects.

[@BlackCat_2]

I love snakes and bats. In younger days when I had just moved from home I was working at a grocery store. They found a hole outside the building that led to the back room and sealed it off during the daylight. Bit of a mistake that. When evening came the store was flooded with bats who had found their previous exit blocked. :p My son came in to watch the part about the snake and was quiet until the end but then he asked me - "Why does she have the monkey from the Nazca Lines on her shirt?" I love those little so proud moments. :D - Heidi

[@DaleBernardoQueLio]

Back in my Army days, I remember doing guard duty in Panama and watching bats chase the whip antenna on my radio pack through night vision goggles. A pleasant surprise amidst the drudgery of guard duty :-)

[@VandrefalkTV]

LOVE these episodes, absolutely LOVE them!

[@WarLarkGamer]

2:16 aha yes blaze it my leathery-winged fellows.

[@georgiataylorsaavedra1667]

I live in a tiny town in Texas with a lot of large windmills (as well as bats), and we have scientists who have moved into the town specifically to study the effect of the windmills on the bats. It's really interesting.

[@JosephGallagher]

Wow, Ellen is just so passionate about bats it really makes me, you know... excited :D

[@hopawaylittlebunny]

Such an interesting topic! I was obsessed with bats when I was little; the fruit bat habitat was my favorite part of the zoo. Nice to hear more about them, especially on SciShow! Also love snakes a lot. ☺

[@Batprince]

I live in Victoria, Australia. Big fruit bats are common place here, swarms flying over the cities of Melbourne or Geelong is a regular thing near botanical gardens. Straggling out of the swarm, some individual bats just kinda roost in trees in peoples back yards. I quite often have a bat living out the back of my house. It's totally awesome to see it gliding around at night!

[@RicardoMoralesMassin]

Bats are SO cool. In my university they put a fountain next to some trees and bats would go sweeping down to drink. I´d just stare at them, they were wonderful

[@Jeramiah2012]

"they're a being... they're there" haha omg I love that woman;D

[@juliusroman8616]

I like research project surveys like that because they're actually something I can understand and do! Ellen seems very passionate, I'm sure she'll go far.

[@kujmous]

Ellen was well spoken for talking off the cuff. Her passion and the passion of Jessi's seem very much in line with one another. If they would merge their efforts, I think both projects would benefit. What can make this happen?

[@hipnyah]

I haven't had exposure to bats but I've always found them interesting. As for snakes I've always wanted one. But back to bats. I've had lots of trouble sleeping and I find company with a bat that is flying around my house. Although he/she is hard to see, I'm mesmerized by their ability to fly so beautifully. Echolocation is nothing to scoff at :P. Ty for the content sci-show please keep them coming.

[@bsinger182]

Ellen is an amazing guest. Great work.

It's so cool that she is so passionate.

[@BjornSeverinLarsen]

Great format. I love watching scientists talk about their work. Something like looking for bats (which is something I truely do not care about) can be that exciting for this woman, is really amazing + her comment about poop. Priceless.

[@ThatSoddingGamer]

Bats and snakes in the same episode? Win! I like both. If I ever went back to school to study, animal research would be a route I'd consider, and bats in particular. Of course snakes are cool too.

[@MegaJessness]

I'm suddenly reminded of how in my hometown (San Antonio, TX) the bats would be out and about by dusk, and every so often in the summer there would be a few swooping down and diving to catch up mosquitos right above the asphalt of my street. I was walking around once and actually saw them do it. One actually almost touched my head, it got so close. That's how I first spotted them doing that, now that I think about it; I felt the air being pushed by its wings on my head.

[@james4thedoctor482]

Another version of the rhyme is "Red on yellow, Kill a fellow; Red on black, Venom lack." But there are many versions.

[@fakjbf]

Hibernacula = Hibernation + Dracula

[@ApplesAndDaisies]

Loved hearing about the bats!

[@ssppeellll]

Bats are creepy, bats are scary, Bats do not seem sanitary; Bats in dismal caves keep cozy, Bats remind us of Lugosi; Bats have webby wings that fold up, Bats from ceilings hand down rolled up; Bats when flying undismayed are, Bats are careful--bats use radar; Bats at night time at their best are, Bats by Batman unimpressed are. (A poem I learned over forty years ago from a Mad magazine publication. And yes, I know it's really sonar they use, not radar.)

[@michaelpesavento8268]

Hi, Good poem and Good memory. Thanks.

[@IONATVS]

I hate to be a stickler, but technically bats use sonar, not radar... Radar bounces radio waves (as opposed to sound waves) off surfaces, and to my knowledge bats don't produce directed radio pulses. Fun rhyme, though.

[@ssppeellll]

IONATVS I LOVE to be a stickler! Which is why my posts ends with this: "And yes, I know it's really sonar they use, not radar."

[@IONATVS]

ssppeellll sorry, didn't see that

[@ssppeellll]

IONATVS No problem.

[@mutantrank]

Round Rock, TX, McNeil road going under the 1-35 freeway overpass, spirals of bats appear every night. It's awesome.

[@missmcinnes]

The poem is awesome. I heard it as Red and Black, venom lack and I live in Australia. A friend from Sth?Nth Carolina told me when she was playing with my pet pythons. I also really love bats. I worked in a zoo with Grey Headed Flying foxes and also rescued a bat form a gymnasium once. Checked it out for injuries, gave it water then waited till night. Let it g. 3 circles around my head and then into the night. No poo though

[@MeleeTiger]

I was never really afraid of snakes as a kid since I would catch and release them a lot with my brothers or friends, garden/garter snakes mostly but some milk snakes too.

[@Moundfreek]

Very cool! I just finished my thesis studying coyote poop! Kudos to ecologists!

[@KatrinaEames]

Bats and Snakes! This is all so awesome!

[@AfroPuffsArtStudios]

I really love this show

[@Eniklis]

We put a bat box in hour barn, really helps with the nasty bugs :) even got pretty used to people and would fly pretty close to you to get bugs.

[@musiciseverything120]

Can I just say I really enjoyed the girls outnumbering the boys in this episode. It was pretty awesome, as was the episode in general!

[@TubeMonkeyGuru]

Bats are awesome, great video

[@Wickendale]

I love bats, I think they're so cool and ridiculously adorable. I love watching them hunt in summer just after sunset- we get loads around here (Midlands, UK) though I have no idea where they're roosting.

[@adityaravishankar8344]

Wow! They're so passionate about it

[@Qermaq]

Clock goes from about 2:12 to 2:47. 14 minutes out of 35 is an awesome percentage, guys.

[@hannaverlie6747]

Aaw I always feel that Hank and Jesse genuinely like eachother! Fun to see =D

[@1234kalmar]

I remember my first encounter with bats in college dorm. I was talking with mom on the phone, out on the balcony. I saw them flying around and one of them decided to fly in through the door, but a few meters from his destination, he noticed me, and was like "Nnnoooope, nothing to do here!" they are quite the flyers :3

[@TnEEn]

Yay! Talk Show :DDDD more plz ^^

[@BeCurieUs]

Ellen is pretty awesome, I hope we hear from her again

[@d0pomein]

We have tons of bats in central Florida. We have a few different kinds of bats. Some kinds eat mosquitoes and other bugs, and others eat fruit; If they squeak, they eat bugs. It's pretty easy to tell a bat from a bird because they fly completely different, you just have to pay attention.

[@kaitzini9732]

I have loved bats for as long as I can remember, I've always had a thing for "odd" animals, and they've always interested me.

[@drif7walk]

They are at the Batcave.

[@StephenParksCandleMaker]

I learned to coral/king snake rhyme as "red on yellow, kill a fellow, red on black, vemon lack". What if you had Matthew Gaydos or someone slap a little commercial for DFTBA.com in the little interim between guests? I'm sure the thought has already occured to you guys, but I've been wondering it since these talk shows started. Thanks!

[@MrSumima]

(5:31) loud Batman voice: WHERE ARE THEY!

[@norwoodzomboy]

SciShow people, you have the best guests & topics! Keep 'em coming! "POO!!"

[@Tarrandus]

Ellen is awesome

[@Gonzomaus]

Batwoman!!

[@batsrule]

thanks

[@michaelpesavento8268]

Hey hank, Thanks for this. People don't know as much as they should know about Bats. The Rhyme is "Red touch yellow,kill a fellow. Red touch black, friend of Jack" Your guest didn't mention the real problem with Bat populations right now the infectious mold that interrupts their hibernation cycle for which there is no effective treatment at the moment. Thanks.

[@juststeveschannel]

August 8, 2013 Sci Show did an episode devoted to White Nose Syndrome called "The Scary American Bat Die-Off." Recommended.

[@michaelpesavento8268]

juststeveschannel Thanks I'll check it out .

[@pigcatapult]

What do you do to avoid disturbing the bats you find in the caves in winter?

[@estherstrek4796]

I would love it if the team could circle back with the scientists they interviewed over the years. Check in on their progress and new projects!

[@TeamFlamingStones]

Now I know I would never have managed to sit down and analyze my finished product to detect this, but I think Ellen's audio could have been EQ'd to reduce the harsh sibilants of her voice; It would make it a bit easier to listen to, I think :) Awesome vid.

[@mangor14]

Lol!! I am from Sinaloa State, wierd seen that on this channel : )

[@pinkypink4823]

there are bats here in Maine between me an my brother we've had 4 bats in the attics on separate occasions. So the question about if Montana is too cold really should be reevaluated.

[@juststeveschannel]

Love bats~get distressed every time I hear them linked to Ebola, because that could lead to people advocating the eradication of bats, which of course would only exacerbate problems of malaria, but people...(Yes, I realize that's a problem in Africa, not Montana, but any more demonizing of bats is too much already.) Great video, as usual.

[@John-iv2oz]

Steve, Malaria is a problem in many southern States here in the US. I live in California and vector control out here is always testing for things like malaria and west nile that is transmitted via mosquito bites. More bats means less mosquitoes.

[@juststeveschannel]

I also live in California. While an occasional case of malaria appears in the U.S., they are so rare that the disease is still classed as "eliminated" here, as it has been since 1951. When it does crop up, it is generally sourced from people who have recently traveled to endemic areas. West Nile is the much greater cause for concern here. I know a little bit about malaria, having contracted my case while in a teaching fellowship in Nigeria. It isn't much fun. But yeah, more bats is definitely a good thing.

[@Qermaq]

Bats can carry eboila, should people lie about that? Anyway, sane people see that malaria is a much, much bigger risk than ebola in the US.

[@rebeccastough6924]

Red touches Yellow, kills a fellow, Red touches Black, Venom Lacks.

[@ExodusisThere]

it's funny, I don't live in Montana but I know more about what is going on in Montana than my own hometown

[@JaqenHghar.]

I have to agree. Batmans lair should most definitely be called "The hibernaculum"

[@MoonyMcMoonykins]

Bats are so freakin' cool. I vividly remember watching the night summer sky in Denmark fill with bats out in the countryside when I was little. And the summer before last I rescued a tiiiny baby bat, I'm fairly certain he was a common pipistrelle. Momma bat must have dropped him or something, he was sitting on a tree root in the middle of the day, I came across him doing a biology field course. I carried him around in a beanie to keep him warm all day, fed him some sugar water when we got back to base camp, and the next day our professor drove him over to a wildlife rescue :)

[@jaybirdcook]

Question: Why do things Randomly fall? Like a poster that seems completely still just Suddenly falls.

[@LordLoss0000]

Hank coming through with the smart, pretty ladies. I like.

[@jmcosmos]

Does Ellen do collab work with BCI?

[@kyleberube469]

Hank rips one at 13:33

[@firefighterjake2008]

how do rockets work in the vacuum of space?

[@howarthe1]

Where does Hank film Sci Show Talk Show?

[@ig7157]

Dang nice shirts Hank and Ellen.

[@scott98390]

So out of four hundred bridges, she found fifteen bridges with bats on them? That's some amazing dedication. Also, the thing that scares me the most about bats is the possibility of rabies. The bats themselves not so much.

[@DesertHomesteader]

Caves make me physically ill (sinus inflammation, skin irritation, etc.). I can only guess that it has something to do with the humidity or spores or something. I do wish I could solve that problem though, because caving is pretty fun.

[@jebus6kryst]

"Red to black, venom lack. Red to yellow, might kill a fellow."

[@SilkToasts]

Supportive comment!

[@kimmyawesomeness4184]

ey! yasss

[@TheSheepMeep]

I love the bats living in my forest. ♥ They look cute (even though I can't see much of them because it's, well, dark outside) and make far less noises than some birds... Though I really do wonder where they sleep because there's certainly no bats just hanging around the forest all day. There is also no cave they could stay in. :/

[@cabeloDoPardal2]

0:37 her voice whistles like the bats sound

[@DerpyBerb]

10 years ago i was roofing, and i heard birds fighting, i look over and i see a bird attacking a bat. evicting it at mid-day from this dilapidated house, the bird killed the bat in air and it fell , curled up and died in the middle of the street. messed me up.

[@scotx1307]

I love those snakes! In Georgia, we call them king snakes mostly. Beautiful creatures, very docile. I've had to stop people from killing them many times.... sad, people see a snake of any kind and want to kill it. King/milk snakes eat venomous snakes, so they are more beneficial even left alive. And they're just gorgeous!

[@Spongebobamy]

ABOUT A WEEK AGO

[@MelvinArthurMurray]

Wow she is so pretty !

[@pgwolvy]

David Attenborough taught me: "Red and black, venom lack; red and yellow can kill a fellow"

[@katsomeday1]

I kind of lucked out when I was a kid. In the summer, I got to see garter snakes and once a black racer in the backyard. At night, little brown bats would buzz overhead eating bugs. It's kind of distressing the White-Nose Syndrome killing North-Eastern bat populations.

[@WinningAlly]

I could feel the awkward nerdy tension through the internet, keep it up.

[@Myr642]

We have bats living in our roof. I named them Brendon, Spencer, and Dallon.

[@alangebhardt8286]

Were any of the bridges she went to named Jeff?

[@MySpider96]

What kind of shoes is he wearing?

[@Wyvern0110]

"Red n' Yellow, Kills a fellow, Red n' Black, Venom lack." 'least how I was taught the rhyme.

[@EmanuelsWorkbench]

If red touches yellow, you're a dead fellow; If red touches black, you're alright, Jack...

[@PixelCortex]

Emanuel de Matos here's my version "Stay the hell away from all snakes forever" the end

[@John-iv2oz]

PixelCortex Good rule, snakes can have mutations with color changes so those nifty rhymes don't always work.

[@Eruaphadian]

I notice you haven't started talking about the comet landing yet, you're probably waiting for things to stabilize. At least that's my best guess :)

[@TheMathMog93]

Video is up now on Scishow Space :)

[@TheDajamster]

10:00 Beware the Montana Land Shark!

[@_helium_]

WHY NO COMET LANDING LIVESTREAM

[@codshortclips]

420 BRIDGE IT! Ha, Brilliant...

[@ErgoCogita]

if i saw that snake in the wild, my first instinct would be to catch it. I've always loved colubrids.

[@CanadianRM4]

You would my neighbourhood then. Because these kids always group together when they find a garter snake and get excited to catch it. But we were smart enough to release them.

[@ErgoCogita]

CanadianRM4 Good stuff! A garter was the first snake I ever caught. My all time fave is the banded water snake. Full grown, they look sort of similar to water moccasins due to being very heavily keeled and thick bodied.

[@willcrago4463]

This was 4 years ago. You should do a follow up with some of the people who were starting research or had a lot of unanswered questions..... also, you should just do a quarterly video with Jack Horner. Lol hahaha

[@TrabberShir]

"People don't see bats" Such a distinct difference between Wisconsin and central Texas.

[@sakura2974]

Will you invite an owl onto SciShow? Preferably one of the Tyto's please, their poop is cool too.

[@XenogeneGray]

Batty for bats ... she truly is Batgirl :P

[@alberthollow1737]

"These vermin must be stamped right out I second that, they've got to go These bats, they've got to hit the road It comes down to just one simple fact They've crossed the line, it's time to fight them Stop the bats! Stop the bats! Make them go and not come back!" For the record I like bat, as well as this song.

[@MykeIXI]

Invite more students into TalkShow

[@lina0182]

Can someone please make a "poop!" *high-five* GIF?

[@ljmastertroll]

When people complain about mosquitos I always tell them to install a bat habitat.

[@Bigboss-zu8xc]

yay

[@A6Legit]

HAHA 420 BRIDGES. DID YA BURN ONE!?