Male hammer-headed fruit bat (Hypsignathus monstrosus) wearing a tracking collar ©SARAH OLSON/WCSHammer-headed fruit bats (Hypsignathus monstrosus) in equatorial Africa could be harboring Ebola virus without showing any symptoms, according to a blog post on the Wildlife Conservation Society’s website. The organization is partnering with the National Institutes of Health to better understand the animals’ ecology and behavior by capturing the bats and outfitting them with GPS trackers. “Our job as scientists is to find a way to prevent Ebola outbreaks and help conserve these bats for future generations, one bat at time,” writes Sara Olson, an associate director of wildlife health at the Wildlife Conservation Society, in the post.
Correction (May 21): an earlier version of this article erroneously stated that hammer-headed fruit bats are in Florida; they are endemic to equatorial Africa. The Scientist regrets the error.
