Multispecies aggregations of bats at kitchen waste pools in western Amazonia: a new source of mineral licks?

ABSTRACT We recorded aggregations of frugivorous bats swooping down to drink from pools formed by kitchen drains in two locations in western Amazonia. Videos and photographs show at least two species and three genera of phyllostomid bats with this behavior. While not possible to count all the individual bats, at least 27 individuals (mainly smaller species) visited one pool in a 6 second interval and at least 17 individuals (mainly larger) visited a nearby pool in a 5 second interval. This behaviour is similar to mammals and birds that aggregate at mineral-rich sites in western Amazonia (and elsewhere in the world) and the bats were probably seeking mineral salts in the drain water. The phenomenon facilitates close observation of bats, but this behavior raises the possibility of transmission of pathogens associated with humans or their domestic animals to bats and requires future investigations.