ABSTRACT
More than 50 million years ago, long before humankind came to light, bats were already closely associated with primary forests. They adapted to a changing environment and spread early to occupy a variety of ecological niches where they evolved and etched their natural history. Much later, humans came for a first encounter, probably in a forested environment where a tribe was hunting or gathering fruits from trees, or a clan found shelter in a cave entrance already inhabited by bats flying out at night. Human and bat domains did not naturally overlap, but their paths would cross for brief encounters.
