Are we sure we're talking about the same bats? Take a screenshot of the screen and post it here.

http://www.oddworldlibrary.net/togg/SS/AO/SSAO0105.jpg
That's the screen, but I'm talking about the screen on the way back into RuptureFarms. There are three bats that circulate the tip of the upper level that prevent you from backtracking once you get to screen E2P02C04 via the bird portal. The screen itself is E2P03C01.

The BBcode seems to be broken...

EDIT: You fixed it...never mind.

Marvellous! I tried the Stockyard Return level on the PS, and this trick does indeed work! Step into the screen from the right, but don't walk any further to the left, so that Abe remains off screen. Remain standing and throw down. More often than not (but not always), the three bats chase after the rock as if it were Abe, allowing Abe to climb down as before.

The Slog has returned to where it was previously, so Abe is free to try and possess the Slig, but I haven't managed that yet. If you want to go and get more rocks, you have to return to the screen with the Slog, then immediately run back on youself. You can't jump over it before it leaps at you.

But quite frankly, I'm not sure it's worth the effort. Still nifty, though. :)

I noticed the path skip cheat works for AE, but not for AO, although on the website I got it from it was under AO...

Yes, they always say the cheats work for AO. I tried the invincibility
code several times. Never works. All I can use is the FMVs, level select,
and the green mines cheats on AO. But it all works fine in AE, so that's good for me.

Max, that screenshot is worthy of a Darwin Award. I mean, seriously.

EDIT: It's curious that the hand had not yet appeared.

Hee hee, yep. It's one of the oldest screenshots there is. The first time I came across that screen, I emulated that leap, but soon learnt not to. :p

It's a different moon. It also doesn't have the pawprint on it after the Abe's Moon movie.

Shouldn't this be closed already? Pretty much everything has been discussed here, and then some...

It doesn't need to be closed, it needs for people to stop adding new discussions to it. :p

True, true...I'm going to stop right here.