how do animals that only use echolocation distinct objects from other animals, and if they do detect an animal, how do they know its a friend or foe?

Question

this has been puzzling me for a while and i would like to know how it works

In: 1

Answer 1

When animals use ecolocation, they send out a sound and listen for an echo. By comparing the sound they sent out to the echo that came back, they can learn information about the environment.

The loudness of the echo, the amount of time it takes to hear the echo, and the frequency spectrum of the echo (the pitches included) allow animals to estimate the distance to an object, and also get an idea of its size and shape.

So a bat, for instance, knows what a moth echo sounds like and can detect where the moth is based on that echo.