Ghost Bat Deadly 60 Bites

On Deadly 60, I've had loads of incredible animal encounters.

Here's just one of my many favourites.

This is Deadly 60...Bites!

The sun's just gone down

and the creatures of the night are out to hunt.

And I'm sat outside an old abandoned gold mine,

cos tonight we're on a ghost hunt.

SCREAMING

THUNDERCLAP

The ghost I've come here to find

makes calls and sounds that are way too high for the human ear to hear.

CLICKING

This piece of ghost-busting technology

can actually hear the ultrasonic frequencies they make.

So, hopefully, I should be able to hear them before I can see them.

CLICKING CONTINUES

GRATING SQUEAKING CLICKS

Whoa!

That was our first ghost.

They're ghost bats...

one of the most astounding bat predators in the whole world.

Whoa!

They're starting to come out in larger numbers now.

Oh, here they go. Oh... Whoa!

I'm not just here because...

ghost bats look like little spirits in the torchlight -

these are truly terrifying hunters.

These are some of the largest carnivorous bats in the world

but they don't just eat insects.

Using their fearsome incisor teeth

they'll bite down through the head and the neck

of birds, other bats, reptiles, frogs.

This really is one of the most awesome predators of all bats

but to see them at their best

I'm going to have to come back here tomorrow when they're fast asleep.

Ghost bats hunt at night. It's hard to get close when they're flying.

Your best chance is during the day when they are resting.

And Damian here...

..has assured me there's a colony of ghost bats inside this disused mine.

I have got a camera which is going to be following me all the way.

Where the big camera can't go, you will be able to see what I'm doing.

-Shall we head in, Damian?

-Yep.

I am a little bit scared of the dark. Shhh!

This is an abandoned goldmine

and as if the bats themselves weren't spooky enough.

This place is just...well, freaky.

Oh, yuck!

Oh, this is hideous and it smells horrendous.

Oh, I hate cockroaches.

They are here because of the bats.

They will be feeding on bat droppings

which already is starting to make up a good proportion of the floor.

Kill the light.

We have just turned our lights out for a second.

Let the bats settle down so they're not freaked out.

I'm a bit less worried about them being freaked out than me.

This place is "Spook Central"!

When you are ready, shine your light up there.

We have just come into a small chamber and...

the smell of bat is very strong in here.

Now, we really don't want to disturb this colony too much.

So we are just going to turn the lights on for a short time

-and get our first proper glimpse of the ghost bat. Are you ready?

-Yeah.

Whoa!

Whoa! Through there.

Here they come.

'It's impossible to keep your nerve

'when you're being dive-bombed by bats.'

(They are absolutely huge!)

'I really want to get a close look at one.

'Damian, takes us to a spot in the cave where the tunnel narrows

'and I may have a chance to net one.

'The crew aren't so keen though.'

(I've got to say, out of all the places that Steve has brought us to,

(this is definitely the scariest I have ever been.)

(I don't like bats!)

SHOUTING AND GROANING

Ah!

-What happened there?

-A bat flew straight into us.

Here they come!

-Got it! Got one.

-Got one?

-Yeah, I got one.

Oh, no.

That is THE most remarkable-looking bat I have ever seen.

We are going to get bombarded by his cousins while we are doing this.

I just need to unpick him from the net very carefully.

The membranes of the wings can be quite fragile.

I mean, quite a lot of bats

of this size, I'd expect to be trying to eat through my arm.

The first thing I have to say is that I have a unique opportunity

to get this close to a ghost bat.

This isn't something anyone should go around doing.

When you are up close to it, you can see where it gets its name from.

He does look like a little phantom.

That abnormally pale grey, almost white fur there on the body

is what makes him appear so ghost-like.

Look at that, it's incredibly thin, isn't it?

Almost like some kind of weird skin kite.

That is another thing which lends to his ghostly image

is the fact that that membrane just looks like a ghostly cloak.

And these - the struts in between the membrane,

those are fingers and hand bones.

I want to show you these teeth because they are really mean.

Look at those incisors there!

If I can show you the bottom jaw as well, look at those.

-I can't believe you're not getting bitten when you do that.

-I know.

That is a set of gnashers!

Teeth like that are what allow this remarkable creature to feed

not only on insects but on lizards, frogs, other bats,

birds, small mammals.

He really is a flying nightmare.

And that is why the ghost bat is going on my Deadly 60.

Ghost bats - they hunt with the stealth of ghosts

and kill like storybook vampires.

If you are a mouse, a frog or a lizard or another bat,

they are a living nightmare.

-There he goes.

-Great stuff.

-Can we get out of here now, please?

-Yes, definitely.

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