In Search of Tzotz

Deep in the Yucatan rainforest, densely inhabited for 1,500 years by the Maya, University of Mexico Professor of Ecology Rodrigo Medellin and National Geographic Photographer Anand Varma work together to research and photograph two rare species of Vampire bat, “the jaguars of the bat world.” These large, elusive, carnivorous bats — called “Tzotz” in the Mayan language — evoke a deep sense of mystery, not least because they now inhabit the ruins of the lost Mayan civilization.