[pants2]

I think the answer to your first question is mostly yes, because we know that when traveling in large swarms, many bats go quiet so they don't overwhelm the signal, yet they still manage to navigate fine.

[lukas099]

Maybe they're just following the sound of the other bats directly, they way you would if you were blindfolded and told to walk with a group of people.

[pants2]

That's a good point