Bats are vital to forest ecosystems: they boost tree growth, sustain biodiversity, and serve as a key indicator of environmental health. With sophisticated faculties and complex social behaviors rivaling those of the largest mammals, these nocturnal creatures sit at the top of the forest food web. When a bat colony thrives year after year, it’s a clear sign that the forest is both livable and resilient.

Guided by Laurent Tillon, Head of Biodiversity at France’s National Forests Office, we immerse into the hidden world of bats, observing them in their natural habitat. The more we study them, the more we sense their awareness of us—and the more we realize that protecting their future is inseparable from protecting our own.

From the collection WORLDS OF THE WILD

Photo © Laurent Fleutot