For the first time ever, scientists have filmed brown rats hunting bats, and while that might seem like an odd thing for scientists to care about, they’re actually really excited about it. According to the Smithsonian, a research paper published in the journal Global Ecology and Conservation documents how rats (with their terrible night vision) use their whiskers to detect bats, allowing them to snatch them out of the sky.

From 2020 to 2024, the group of researchers used thermal cameras to film these bat-hunting rats in Northern Germany, not just for the heck of it, but for science! And despite being cool as hell, rats preying on bats could possibly have some negative effects on humans.

In short, bats are notorious for carrying coronaviruses (don’t remind me), and rats, which, before now, weren’t believed to eat bats, are sharing pathogens with them, which scientists say is bad, as rats and humans come into contact more frequently than bats and humans.

So the next time you’re forced into lockdown, remember this picture.

Not so cool after all, huh? 

NEW - German study shows rats catching bats from mid air, for the first time, potentially enabling bat pathogens like coronaviruses and paramyxoviruses to spill over to rodents, changing disease patterns and increasing transmission risks to "humans and domestic animals." pic.twitter.com/pHBzZ6T2g5

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