Bats are some of the most misunderstood animals in the world. When I lived and worked at Carlsbad Caverns National Park, every night around sunset I could look out my window and watch hundreds of thousands of Mexican free-tailed bats exit the cavern. Most insect eating bats sleep during the day and when the Carlsbad maternity colony foraged at night scientists estimated that they consumed thousands of pounds of insects, an obvious benefit to farmers in the region.
During the day the colony roosted in bat cave just south of my mountain side apartment overlooking the cave’s entrance. I estimated that bat cave was about a football field away and a thousand feet down in one of the deepest parts of the cavern.
The volunteer coordinators at the Zoo have asked that I talk to them about bats to help them prepare for an upcoming virtual children’s camp. I suggested that we open it up to the public. I hope you can find time to join us. Our long time education partner, the Chihuahuan Desert Education Coalition, will host the presentation on Zoom at 2pm on Tuesday, September 22.
Here’s the link:
Topic: Bats of the Chihuahuan Desert
Time: Sep 22, 2020 02:00 PM Mountain Time (US and Canada)
Meeting ID: 825 5580 7499
Passcode: Bats2020!
by Rick LoBello, Education Curator
Conservation Education 