Part VII: Bagorah
My name is Wes Atkins and I have been to many locations, all over the world, but none come close to a place called Monster Island. As the name implies, this is where an ancient group of animals are housed and they are known as… Kaiju! I specialize in studying these remarkable creatures but I also want to pass that knowledge on to many of you viewers. So let's do just that and prepare to join me in another installment of the Wild World of Kaiju.
In a night vision filter, the camera shot opens on Wes walking up to the camera. The host is sporting his regular adventurer's attire but a significantly new article of clothing are the night vision goggles currently over his eyes.
"Good evening folks and welcome back," He cheerfully says while smiling at the camera. "If you couldn't tell already, it's night time on Monster Island and we're here to observe a few of the only nocturnal Kaiju to inhabit this great place. Tonight we'll be taking a look at the giant bat Kaiju, Bagorah who stands at a height of 20 meters (66 feet) tall and reaches a wing span of 45 meters (148 feet) long. Bagorah may not be the largest Kaiju we will be seeing but he is currently the largest species of bat on the planet, with the title previously belonging to the giant fruit bat. Now I did say 'a few' because Bagorah isn't the only giant bat on the island. Recently a female bat of the same species was discovered in Nigeria and she was promptly transported here. They may be big but they are still bats and it's about this time of year that they begin finding mates. So we are here tonight to try and see if Bagorah can court this new female and then hopefully find himself a partner. We will have to be incredibly careful though, Bagorah and the female are predatory animals and they do consider humans as a food source. If that wasn't bad enough, they have impeccable hearing and a sense of smell so I took the precaution of spraying Shawn and myself with a scent eliminator. This is a spray that hunters use to mask their smell from animals and hopefully it works for giant bats as well."
Without warning, something flies above the camera and rustles the branches of the jungle canopy. The camera then pursues Wes as he starts to give chase to the flying creature. The audio picks up a high pitched shriek as Wes begins to follow the mysterious noise. Several minutes pass before Wes uses his arm to clear a group vines to reveal a clear view of a cavernous opening in the distance.
"This is definitely it folks. That's the opening that leads to the female's underground cave. Lucky for us that we managed to follow her back to her lair. The Monster Island researchers have observed the female many times and informed us that she always takes her prey back to her cave. But who doesn't like to dine in their own home ey? So we know for a fact that she is currently in there. Bagorah will be seeking out the female so all we have to do is wait for him to show up." He says while looking at the camera with the large goggles over his eyes.
A mix of high pitched screeching and repulsive eating noises emanate from the opening, being loud enough to be heard by the Wes and the audio equipment.
"That shrieking noise you're hearing is coming from the female." Wes whispers to the camera. "Like all bats, these monstrous creatures can produce ultrasonic noises and use them to locate prey in a process known as echolocation. What they will do is emit a noise and listen for that same noise to bounce back to them, indicating that something is nearby. The bat will continue to do this until they are able to exactly pinpoint where their prey is and then snatch them up with either their claws or teeth. Fun fact for you all, that ultrasonic frequency is the same one that the Kamacuras can hear and that helps them avoid being hunted by these large bats. However, Bagorah and the female take this a step further and weaponize this ultrasonic ability to deadly effect. How they do this is they are able to contract their voice boxes, better known as a larynx. They will contract their larynxes and focus their shrieks through their throats like a type of resonating chamber. This greatly amplifies the power of their voices to create a high frequency that is strong enough to damage buildings and even other Kaiju. Think of it like when your voice gets louder when screaming through a tunnel. For those who don't know, noise levels are measured in something called decibels. As a reference, a normal conversation with someone close to you is about 60 decibels. Meanwhile, a hair dryer and vacuum cleaner can range from 70 to 80 decibels. Human hearing will start becoming painful at 120 decibels, which is the equivalent of a jet taking off, and can cause permanent damage to your ears. Bagorah and the female can emit frequencies up to 190 decibels! That is just as loud as a Rocket launching and is completely intolerable to human hearing. But don't worry because these bats mainly just use their echolocation to hunt and only when they feel threatened do they ever use this devastating ability."
The noises continue to come from the opening until another shrieking sound could be heard in the distance. The camera looks off to focus on the source and just beyond a nearby hill, a giant bat flies over the landscape.
The creature is flying with two large wings that are each tipped with a singular hook like claw at the front of them. The face of the Kaiju has many bat-like features including large pointy ears, flared nostrils, and a mouth full of long pointed teeth. The body was smooth and very slender, outlining the creature's ribs. Behind the creature was a long tail that flopped about as it flew. Hanging below the bat were a set of two legs, each having four sharp claws that were currently carrying something. As it flew closer, it was revealed to be a large hammerhead shark being held in between the claws.
"It looks like our lucky bachelor has arrived and he brought a gift. These bats will eat almost anything they can wrap their claws around and tonight it seems like Bagorah was able to snag a Mega hammerhead shark. Bringing an offering to the female will greatly increase his chances so he's off to a good start." Wes states.
The camera continues to focus on Bagorah as it flies above and makes its way towards the cave. The giant bat hovers around the opening and drops the shark to the floor below. As the lifeless prey fell to the ground, Bagorah then began to furiously flap its wings to blow a stream of wind into the cave.
"What Bagorah is doing now is letting the female know that he's arrived." Wes explains to the camera. "He does this by blowing a unique scent that comes from these special glands on the underside of his wings. This scent informs the female that he is a male of the same species and not a prey animal. This scent also lets the female know how attractive the male is. Humans find others attractive through looks, personality, and many other factors. But bats gauge attractiveness through smell and that is exactly what Bagorah is displaying right now. If the female finds this scent appealing enough, she will hopefully exit the cave to allow Bagorah to continue to court her. So let's see what comes next."
Bagorah continues to flap its wings for a few more minutes until stopping to land next to its caught prey. The creature folds its wings and starts crawling on all fours. A different shrieking sound is heard from inside the cave, much louder than the previous ones. Bagorah crawls backwards a few meters while still facing the opening and is met with the sight of the female crawling out towards him. She closely resembles Bagorah but is slightly bigger in size.
Wes excitedly points at the creature, to the camera, while trying to keep his voice down. Even with the goggles obscuring most of his face, he's still able to convey a bright smile.
The female makes her way closer to the male and the two exchange some low pitched squeals. She then approaches the shark carcass and lowers her head to sniff it a few times. After a brief moment, the female begins consuming the animal using her sharp teeth. It doesn't take long for her to eat most of the animal, only leaving a few remains of the shark. She then turns to face the male as the two communicate with a variety of clicks and low auditory screeches.
The two bats then suddenly leap into the air and begin flying around each other in a circular motion. As the two fly by one another, they interlock their claws and begin tugging in opposite directions.
"Now this may seem odd but this is a completely normal process in finding a mate. No other species of bat partakes in this mating ritual, which makes these two that more unique. With most species of animals, the males will compete with other males for the right to mate with the female. That's not the case with these giant bats though. Females will directly compete with the males in a type of tug o'war and this ensures that the female picks only the strongest male to pass on their genes. This works for and against Bagorah because he is the only male here at the moment. However, if he doesn't succeed then there goes his chances of finding a mate. The male succeeds when he is able to pull the female all the way down to the ground and you bet I'm rooting for our boy there." Wes finishes his statement and continues to watch the two bats.
Both bats pull hard on each other and it appears that the female is gaining the upper hand. She begins slowly pulling Bagorah in her direction. The male bat tries pulling back but the female continues to keep gaining ground.
"C'mon you can do it buddy," Wes quietly whispers to himself.
Bagorah frantically flaps its wings in vain while the female is still successfully pulling him. The male then starts doing something different by darting his body towards the ground. Bagorah's sudden movement interrupts the female's constant flying and causes her to become unbalanced. During this time, Bagorah pulls on the female and manages to gain some ground on her. The female then begins to pull him back but the male then darts upwards and causes her to interrupt her momentum yet again. Bagorah pulls on her again and brings the female closer in his direction. Bagorah continues to repeat his pattern of darting then pulling, slowly bringing the female closer to the ground. It goes on for several more minutes with both bats showing signs of fatigue. Bagorah brings the female close to the ground but in a last ditch attempt she tugs on the male with all her strength and pulls him away many meters from the ground. However, the female was now exhausted and Bagorah abandons his previous strategy in favor of brute force. Bagorah furiously flies towards the jungle floor and finally manages to pull the female down to the ground. Both creatures hit the ground with a great force but luckily neither is injured and both bats recover quickly.
Wes pumps his fist through the air and silently applauded the male on his recent success. He then realizes the camera is focused on him and embarrassingly just nods and continues to observe the bats.
The female makes her way to Bagorah's side and begins to gently nip at the creature's neck. Both then start to create a type of chirping noise. The sound itself was rather pleasant and the bats continued to create the sound as they began to lick one another.
With the camera focused on the bats, Wes slowly makes his way into the shot and talks quietly into his mic. "Big congratulations to the happy new couple. Bagorah has shown that strength isn't the only thing that matters. Creative thinking is also an attribute that is invaluable. Now the mating process for these species of giant bats may be long but it is definitely worth it. Once a male has earned the female's favor, they will be together for life. Both will continue to protect and provide for each other until the very end. Once these newly weds successfully mate, it will only take about 6 months for their bat pup to be born."
Bagorah and the female spread their wings and give a high pitched shriek before flying into the cave opening together. The night sky begins to lighten up as dawn begins to approach.
"Well I guess I won't be needing these anymore huh?" Wes then takes off his night vision goggles and the camera's vision turns back to normal. The once dark sky was now illuminated in a warm orange color of the rising sun.
"With the start to a new day means that our night time adventure has come to an end." He says while briefly looking at the sunrise and then back to the camera. "I hope you all enjoyed our little nocturnal adventure. I know that it may not have been very eventful but I hope that it was an enriching experience for some. I'll also discuss with the researchers to see if we can give the female a proper name. Thank you folks again for joining me on yet another adventure and I look forward, as always, to seeing you all back here when we take another look into the Wild World of Kaiju."