Echolocation in Mammals

Natural ability to survive in abnormal environment by the vision impaired mammals is called echolocation also known as biosonar. Echolocation is done by usually those mammals which exhibit extraordinary senses to emulate the livelihood in the odd conditions and battle for their survival. They either have ruptured vision problem or don't have sight at all.

Which mammals show Echolocation?

Some mammals show this capability, these mammals include shrews (terrestrial mammal), Bats (flying mammal), Dolphin and toothed whales (marine mammals).

How Echolocation works?

For Echolocation, mammals emit sound waves/beams/rays of 60 and 140 decibel intensity, with a high frequency normally ranging between 20 to 110 KHz for bats, 30-150 KHz for dolphins, 0.5 to 25 kHz for whales, and 25-95 KHz for shrew. These waves return by the collusion with other stimulus (target objects) in the surrounding of the emitter animal/mammal. Echolocation is basically done by animals to locate, identify and range the objects. Ranging is done by measuring the time delay between the animal's own sound emission and the echoes that return from the environment. The angle of the object is judge by receiving reflected intensity of sound from that object. With echolocation, mammals can judge the whereabouts of the other wandering preys surpassing in the medium home to the source animal.

What benefits does mammals got from Echolocation?

Shrews:- Echolocation help shrews to explore the geographical and terrain patterns like  walls and ceilings of the tunnels. The sound produced by shrew with low amplitude and frequency modulated. Unlike bats, shrews just use echolocation for investigating its habitat and not for finding food and preys.

Bats:- The bats can detect the location of insects by evaluating the data received by the echo (natural sonar). If the echo is coming towards the right ear then the insect is present at right, after infiltrating the cross-sectional area of the prey by the sonar. The bat can also detect the size of the insect by getting the information from the reflected sound waves. If the reflecting sound waves are lesser in number, than the insect is smaller in size and vice versa. On the basis of pitch, bat can also detect the moving direction of insect.

Dolphins and whales:- For finding pray in deep or murky water, these marine mammals produce series of clicks. As the target prey becomes closer to emitter animal, the rate at which it produces clicks gets faster and faster. When the click interval gets shorter the distance between them increases, the click train sounds like a buzz and helps animal to capture the prey.