"That's-" Alex stops to consider. "Assuming we can figure out a way to dose the venom in a way that won't risk infection, that's a really good idea. And not unprecedented, there have been people who learn to echo-locate on their own." There's even a big educational sign in the area of the zoo where they keep the bats, which isn't that far from the reptile house that talks about such people.

"I could start seeing if I can breed them, if I can catch a few more. The venom's effects only last a day, so we'll need more than one to build up a good venom store. Breeding them in captivity will mean less risk of disease." And he gets to study cool snake-like bats up close. Win-win.

He starts pulling out the notes he has on the batsnakes, and seperating them out from the notes on peacock cats and crocodile dogs. The notes read a lot like an entry from his family field guides, except that everything he's encountering is new and totally unheard of, not just rare and/or "imaginary," and he's only had a couple months to observe anything.