Bird Photos
Species Accounts
Conservation Issues
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Bat Conservation and Research
Banded July 19, 1998 - Indianapolis, Indiana
General Information
Worldwide, there are nearly 1,000 species of bats. They range in size from the tiny
bumble-bee bat of Thailand, one of the world's smallest mammals, to the vulture size Fox
bats. Their diet consists primarily of insects, but some species eat nectar and fruits.
The vampire bats drink the blood of other animals.
Bats are the only major predators of night flying insects. Fruit eating bats are
important for seed dispersal, and literally thousands of our economically important plants
depend on nectar feeding bats for pollination of their flowers. Guano from bats continues
to be a major fertilizer in many countries.
Bats are probably most known for echolocation, their amazing ability to navigate in
total darkness using sonar. As they fly, they emit various supersonic sounds that reflect
off objects and are then picked up by the supersensitive ears of the bat.
The following photos were taken during a research project by Dr. John Whitaker, Jeff
Laborda and the students at Indiana State University.
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The Big Brown Bat is one the 40 species of
bats that occur in North America. They are nocturnal, eat insects, and roost in caves,
tunnels, crevices, hollow trees and buildings. Their hand is formed into a wing with a
double membrane of skin stretched between the fingers, side of the body and hind legs.
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Figure 1 - Big Brown Bat
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Figure 2 - Big Brown Bat
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The arrangement of the teeth is
characteristic of insect eating mammals. Bats do bite, but contrary to popular wisdom,
rabies is relatively rare in bats. Even so, it is not wise to handle bats without proper
training and immunization. |
Bats roost hanging head down by their hind
feet. Special valves in their circulatory system keep blood from rushing to their heads as
they hang upside down. |
Figure 3 - Hind Feet
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Figure 4 - Northern Long-eared Myotis
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The Northern Long-eared Myotis is readily
identified by its large black ears. They frequent forests, buildings, and caves. Note the
red band on the leg of this individual. |
The Honduran White Bat of Central America is
rare indeed. These bats roost in small groups under a leaf that they have formed into a
tent. |
Figure 5 - Honduran White Bat
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Figure 6 - White Bat leaf tent
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White bats nip the center of the leaf to fold
it over into a roost site. The bats then roost under the leaf during the day. |
Researchers catch and band bats to learn more
about their habits and conservation needs. |
Figure 7 - Banding A Big Brown Bat
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Figure 8 - Weighing a Bat
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Each bat is weighed, and various other
measurements taken to determine its age, sex and health. Breeding Behavior Bats, like
other mammals, give live birth to one or two pups and nurse their young. Young bats cling
to their mothers for a while, and travel with her as she flies. When they become too
heavy, she leaves them at the roost while she forages for food.
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The forearm of each bat is measured to
determine its size. |
Figure 9 - Taking Bat Measurements
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Figure 10 - Examining the Wing
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The amount of cartilage in the bony regions
of the wing is examined to determine the age of the bat. |
Sometimes researchers will attach a tiny
transmitter to the bat to track its movements. |
Figure 11 - Tiny Transmitter
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Figure 12 - Telemetry Receiver
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A radio telemetry receiver is used to receive
the signal from the bat. |
Here, Jeff Laborda of Indiana State
University handles the telemetry receiver and tracking antenna. |
Figure 13 - Tracking Antenna
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Figure 14 - Natural Roost for Bats
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Bats roost in a number of different habitats.
Buildings, barns, attics, caves, hollow trees, under loose bark and abandoned mine shafts,
are some of the places they choose. This photos shows the loose bark of a Hickory tree,
one of the favorite roosts of some species of bats.
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As we learn more about the importance of bats
to our environment, many people are placing artificial roost boxes to make a safe home for
bats in their area. These can be purchased or built. Plans for a bat house can be obtained
from your local library, your local Dept. of Natural Resources, or from stores that carry
commercial bat houses.
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Figure 15 - Artificial Bat Roost Sites
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Conservation Status
Bats are extremely important to the health and continued existence of our environment.
Bats consume large quantities of insects pests. Many species of economically important
tropical and subtropical plants such as fruits, nuts, spices, peaches, bananas, mangos,
guavas, avocados, dates, figs cashews, carob, timber trees, cacti and clove depend on bats
for pollination of their flowers and dispersal of their seeds. Unfortunately, the survival
of many species of bats hangs in the balance. Pesticide poisoning, habitat loss, over
exploitation, inadvertent and deliberate human disturbance or destruction of colonies and
hibernation sites all take their toll. Some species are already extinct, and others have
experienced population declines of up to 80%. To continue your study of bats, you can
visit the web page of Bat Conservation International at http://www.batcon.org/ but be sure
to come back!
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All images are courtesy of CWBO. All image copyrights are owned by CWBO.
Any use of these images must have permission of CWBO. |
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