Flying Fur

Cherokee Nation protects rare bat habitat

Oklahoma, USA -- An Oklahoma tribe has established a conservation area to protect the habitat of an endangered species, the Ozark Big-Eared bat (Plecotus townsendii ingens). The cave-dwelling bat colony was discovered when a Cherokee citizen contacted the tribe to appraise his land.

In establishing the conservation area, Cherokee Nation officials negotiated a historic deal with the landowner, who was not identified in order to protect the bats... Under the terms of the agreement, the tribe was granted an easement that prohibits for 30 years any development of the property. MORE

For kids: Ozark Big-Eared bat coloring page

Bat Flight at Carlsbad Caverns

"Bats Like Smoke" photo by Tolka Rover.

According to legend, around the turn of the 20th century a young cowboy found the entrance to Carlsbad Caverns by following what he thought was a plume of smoke. Turns out that smoke was actually a column of Mexican free-tailed bats exiting the cave. Research indicates that Mexican free-tailed bats have roosted in Carlsbad Caverns for over 5,000 years. More.

New web site at BCI

The Bat Conservation International (BCI) web site has a new look. I think it's much more user-friendly than before. This is the most comprehensive collection of bat information offered to the general public. Sign up for their free e-newsletter.

New center for bat research

Indiana State University announced the creation of the Center for North American Bat Research and Conservation. The new center will focus on research for education purposes, and the protection of endangered bat species.

Lucky snapshot

Photo copyright nyterrent

See the pale dot just above the wall? It's a bat in flight. Not sure what species this is. It has pale fur, but the shape doesn't look like a pallid bat. Maybe a California myotis? You can get a closer look in the large size image. This beautiful photo was taken by nyterrent at the Anasazi pueblo at Wupatki, at the edge of the Painted Desert, northeast of Flagstaff, Arizona.

Heroic rescue of Texas bats

FORT WORTH -- Bat World Sanctuary recently accomplished an exhausting rescue of over 1,200 Mexican Freetail bats.

The Kress building had apparently been used by the bats for decades without problems. However, the building was now being refurbished to create luxury apartments, and it appeared the contractor had inadvertently sealed the entry/exit for the colony, thereby forcing the bats to seek an alternate means of escape. Somehow, the bats had found their way into an elevator shaft which gave them access to every floor of the building. Before long, bats were flying through the businesses that occupied the first floor of the building...

A few bats made it out safely. But many more of them were trapped inside without access to food or water. A team of volunteers worked nearly around the clock to remove and treat as many bats as they could manage.

The cost of this rescue was substantial. Over 225 man hours went into the rescue. The lost wages, along with the medical supplies, additional caging, food and heating pads and fuel used for travel, totaled an estimated $2,500. Approximately 1,800 bats... perished in the Kress building.

Bat World Sanctuary, a world leader in bat rescue and rehabilitation, is in serious need of donations to cover rescue costs and to fund their work in activism and education. Donate here.

Amateur bat watcher's report

I just heard my first bat calls of Spring 2005. The bat was foraging over a small swampy drainage basin. It was an hour after sunset. I could not see the bat as it chased flying insects, but I could hear its calls get softer and then louder as it swooped back and forth over the basin. I’m almost certain it was a big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus).

Of course, I couldn’t hear the bat without the help of an ultrasound bat detector. Most bat calls are too high-pitched for human hearing. My heterodyne bat detector converts the bat’s echolocation sounds to a frequency I can hear.

When I started watching bats last year, I was surprised how many there were in my neighborhood. I live in a dense townhouse community surrounded by busy highways and big stores. I have never seen a deer, raccoon, or skunk in the vicinity. But I've seen and heard plenty of bats consuming our nighttime insects. Bats will forage where conditions are right for them. They need insect prey, a water source, and open areas bordered by woods for coverage. I’ve found them foraging along the edges of athletic fields, and above the tall lamps in store parking lots.

Bats in Eastern Russia

Angela Bakka is a zoologist at a laboratory of biodiversity conservation in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. She has taken some beautiful photos of bats in her region. See Angela's web site for images of animals and lovely landscapes.