See How Bat Moms Find Their Babies in Crowded, Dark Caves

Searching for your child in a crowd can be stressful enough, but imagine trying to find them in a crowded, pitch-black cave. That’s not a problem for these “tequila” bat moms since they rely on their sense of smell to find their babies.

The video shows a mother bat moving over a cluster of babies to find her own. As soon as she’s in the cluster, the pup becomes agitated and directs its body to her. Once the mother sniffs out her pup, she licks it until it latches onto her nipple.

National Geographic explorer Begoña Iñarritu studied these bats in the caves of the Sonoran Desert. Iñarritu suspects the pups may also recognise their mother, but it's unclear when newborns begin to recognise the scent of their mothers.