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Study Reveals Fruit Bats Use Landmarks for Navigation

10/27/2025

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Summary

Story summary

Scientists from the Weizmann Institute of Science tracked brain activity in fruit bats in the wild, revealing an internal compass that stays stable across Latham Island off the Tanzanian coast.
The Weizmann Institute team outfitted the bats with advanced tracking devices to monitor neural signals during natural navigation.
The researchers found the bats rely on visual landmarks for navigation rather than Earth's magnetic field, and the findings appeared in Science.

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Story summary

Scientists from the Weizmann Institute of Science tracked brain activity in fruit bats in the wild, revealing an internal compass that stays stable across Latham Island off the Tanzanian coast.
The Weizmann Institute team outfitted the bats with advanced tracking devices to monitor neural signals during natural navigation.
The researchers found the bats rely on visual landmarks for navigation rather than Earth's magnetic field, and the findings appeared in Science.