Merlin Tuttle: podcast appearances and interviews

Merlin Devere Tuttle, born on August 26, 1941, is an American ecologist, conservationist, writer, and wildlife photographer with a focus on bat ecology, behavior, and conservation. He is recognized for protecting the Austin Congress Avenue Bridge bat colony from extermination and is the founder and executive director of Merlin Tuttle's Bat Conservation in Austin, Texas. Tuttle also founded Bat Conservation International, retired from that organization in 2009, and contributed to establishing the National Park of American Samoa. His research includes studies on gray bat population ecology, migration, and frog-eating bats such as Trachops cirrhosus. He has contributed extensively to wildlife photography, with his images featured in numerous National Geographic Society publications, including collections like 100 Best Pictures and 100 Years of Adventure and Discovery. In 2002, Tuttle's photographs were used in a commemorative stamp series issued by the United States Postal Service. He served as science editor and photographer for the Smithsonian Books publication BATS: an illustrated guide to all species in 2019. Tuttle's work has earned him accolades such as the Gerritt S. Miller Jr. Award and recognition from the Texas State House of Representatives. In 2015, he published a memoir titled The Secret Lives of Bats: My Adventures With the World's Most Misunderstood Mammals, detailing his experiences in bat conservation and research.