Bat Blitz in the Big Bend! There we are, in the middle of the wilderness in the dead of night, sitting quietly in the dark while waiting for the world’s only flying mammal to make an appearance. But it is not quiet. Frogs, owls and cicada create a cacophony of sound, and occasionally SOMETHING makes a noise nearby. Every 15 minutes a biologist heads deeper into the woods to check the whisper-thin nets we strung across the creek and trail earlier in the evening. 11 PM: A bat is caught up in one of the nets. A biologist gently untangles the animal and brings it back to the small group gathered under the stars. Scientists examine the bat to determine if Floridas bats remain free of white-nose syndrome. Having caught a healthy bat, it is set free to eat hundreds more mosquitoes and other flying insects before morning. Did you know bats save farmers BILLIONS of dollars a year? Click on the photos to find out how that works, plus more reasons it’s crucial for biologists to continue monitoring our bats. LISTEN to a Southeastern myotis like the bat in the lower left photo: youtu.be/R1b0Y6nCRz8 More Bat Blitz photos: https://flickr/photos/myfwcmedia/sets/72157647251055266/ Learn more about Florida’s 13 native bat species: myfwc/wildlifehabitats/profiles/mammals/land/bats/ Report sick, unusually behaving or dead bats: myfwc/BatMortality Read about efforts to combat white-nose syndrome: https://whitenosesyndrome.org/ Build a backyard bat house: floridabats.org/BYBH.htm Interested in more info about annual bat blitzes? sbdn.org/hosting_blitz.html FWC photo by Kevin Oxenrider #bat #batblitz #florida #conservation #wildlife
Posted on: Mon, 08 Sep 2014 13:39:22 +0000
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