Unveiling the Dusk Hunters: The Real-Life Evolution of North America's Deathgleaners

Scenario: Let's say, sometime during the late Pliocene or early Pleistocene era, the environmental pressures and ecosystem changes started favoring bats of increased size and adaptability. As a result, the evolution wheel spun in favor of Deathgleaners. Just like in The Future is Wild, these enormous bats would evolve primarily in North America and have traits similar to predatory and scavenger species, differing significantly from their frugivore ancestors. Their primary diet would consist of small vertebrates, carrion, and occasionally fruits and insects. With an approximate wingspan of approximately 4.25 feet, they'd take to skies in the day, patrolling over forests, plains, and rivers, their keen eyes searching for their next meal. With time, their larger size and social behavior would result in establishing complex bat colonies, similar to what we see in bee hives and ant colonies in the contemporary world. Bats are known for their communicative abilities, and deathgleaners would've further developed their intricate communication involving distinct calls and body language. Their carnivorous nature could potentially pose risks to smaller animals, including pets and small livestock. On the one hand, they might control populations of rodents and other small pests. On the other hand, such large bats could have harmful interactions with humans and might pose a risk for zoonotic diseases. Eco-tourism could develop around these magnificent creatures, with people traveling to see their massive colonies and observe their flights during broad daylight. Scientists would study their evolution, unique behavior patterns, and potential implications for the ecosystem. Much like our relationship with other large predators like bears or wolves, humans would need to establish a careful balance of respect and caution in regions where deathgleaners roost. On a wider ecological level, the introduction of such a large diurnal predator into the natural landscapes of North America could have interesting and far-reaching impacts, affecting every part of the food chain from small mammals, amphibians, and birds to larger predatory mammals, potentially causing shifts in their populations and behaviors as well.