Why this mezcal farmer invites bats to his field

Описание: Watch Shared Planet on CBC Gem and YouTube:    • Shared Planet | Nature in 4K  

Bats aren't bad - just ask this Mexican farmer, who's agave farm now relies on the small flying mammals to help protect his mezcal business for the future.

Tequila and mezcal — two of Mexico's most famous exports — are made from the agave plant, a variety of succulent with leaves that can grow to a length of two-and-a-half metres or more. And on most agave farms, the plants are clones.

Mature agaves send out roots that develop into smaller plants, and farmers will replant these genetic copies in new fields. But identical plants are also identically vulnerable, meaning a single disease threatens to wipe out an entire crop.

This is where the bats come in.

The nocturnal mammals are the main pollinators of agave plants. With a tongue that can extend nearly as long as their bodies, bats lap up the sweet nectar of the agave blooms. Meanwhile, the pollen on their faces — from wild agaves they've fed on earlier that night — pollinates the flowers. This allows the plants to produce genetically diverse seeds.

#BatFacts #Mezcal #Mexico

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