Let Sleeping Bats Hang

While fans jam theaters this summer to see a caped crusader patrolling the streets of fictional Gotham City, his real-life brethren may truly be man’s best friends, dining on up to 1,000 mosquitoes per hour. Yet, ironically, human disturbances and loss of habitat have led to such steep bat population declines that six of the 45 U.S. species are now listed as endangered.

Well meaning cavers and biologists can arouse summer-season maternal bat colonies, causing mothers to drop their flightless young to the cave floor, killing them. In other cases, human intrusion may cause bat parents to panic and to abandon their newborns.

Like bears, bats hibernate through the winter until spring arrives with its bounty of food. When aroused from hibernation, bats will expend energy stores they need to sustain them until spring and if this happens often enough, they will starve to death before spring.

So when making your caving plans, please avoid those heavily populated with bats and urge others to do the same. Satisfy your bat-mania at zoo exhibits, join a local bat conservation organization, build your own bathouse, or even attend a music festival that honors bats.

For more info on bats and U.S. caves, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service website,is an excellent place to start.