--- description: The bats reportedly block each other's frequencies to adversely impact hunting ability title: Aerial Bat Battles image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt74c23539741d511b/6987679ecd6848e00a097e11/163436740.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Science](/section/science/) ## Science Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [animals](/tag/animals/) ## animals Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Study Shows Bats Jam Each Other's Sonar to Snatch the Best Prey by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 7, 2014 6:04 AM CUT  Flying Brown Long-eared Bat (Plecotus auritus) Flying Brown Long-eared Bat (Plecotus auritus)Yves Adams—Getty Images by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 7, 2014 6:04 AM CUT The use of sonar by bats for hunting has been well-documented over the years, with the nocturnal winged mammals using ultrasonic clicks to target their prey in a phenomenon called echo-location. But a new [study](http://www.sciencemag.org/content/346/6210/745 "undefined"), published on Friday in the journal _Science_, reveals that bats also sabotage rivals by [jamming each other’s sonar frequencies](http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn26513-zoologger-bats-jam-each-others-sonar-to-steal-meals.html#.VFxP-Uv881e "undefined") so that they can grab the most appetizing prey. “This jamming signal covers all the frequencies used by the other bat, so there’s no available frequency to shift to,” Johns Hopkins University researcher Aaron Corcoran, who co-authored the study, told the _New Scientist_. [Read more at _New Scientist_](http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn26513-zoologger-bats-jam-each-others-sonar-to-steal-meals.html#.VFxP-Uv881e "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3571704/study-bats-jam-sonar-hunting/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3571704/study-bats-jam-sonar-hunting/"},"headline":"Study Shows Bats Jam Each Other's Sonar to Snatch the Best Prey","datePublished":"2014-11-07T06:04:23.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T11:18:00.084Z","description":"The bats reportedly block each other's frequencies to hinder their hunting ability","url":"https://time.com/3571704/study-bats-jam-sonar-hunting/","keywords":["animals","hunting","study"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt74c23539741d511b/6987679ecd6848e00a097e11/163436740.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rishi Iyengar","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/rishi-iyengar/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt74c23539741d511b/6987679ecd6848e00a097e11/163436740.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"163436740","caption":"163436740","creditText":"Yves Adams—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/animals/","name":"animals"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3571704/study-bats-jam-sonar-hunting/","name":"Study Shows Bats Jam Each Other's Sonar to Snatch the Best Prey"}}]}] ```