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Explorers at Work: Rodrigo Medellín

Explorers at Work: Rodrigo Medellín

Ecologist and National Geographic Explorer Rodrigo Medellín is fondly known as the "Bat Man of Mexico." Rodrigo has spent much of his life studying the lesser long-nosed bat and has been instrumental in educating farmers about the bats’ importance and role in agave pollination, convincing many to set aside part of their land to allow the plants there to flower and be pollinated.

Grades

5 - 12+

Subjects

Conservation

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Transcript (English)

- All my life has always been connected to animals. When I was 13, I started getting to know the bats. Wow. Bats have a bad image. So I decided to devote my life to convince people that bats are our nocturnal allies. They specialize in using the ecosystem in many different ways. Bats pollinate, and disperse the seeds of many, many plants. And also, bats are incredible pest controllers.

My name is Rodrigo Medellin and I work on the ecology and conservation of bats.

Transcripción (Español)

- Toda mi vida siempre ha estado conectada con los animales. Cuando tenía 13 años, comencé a conocer a los murciélagos. Guau. Los murciélagos tienen una mala imagen. Así que decidí dedicar mi vida a convencer a la gente de que los murciélagos son nuestros aliados nocturnos. Se especializan en usar el ecosistema de muchas maneras diferentes. Los murciélagos polinizan y dispersan las semillas de muchas, muchas plantas. Y además, los murciélagos son increíbles controladores de plagas.

Mi nombre es Rodrigo Medellín y trabajo en la ecología y conservación de los murciélagos.

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Web Producer
Clint Parks
other
Last Updated

May 22, 2025

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