On our trip to Austin in March, we went along the Colorado River and made our way to the Congress Avenue Bridge. The bridge is home to the largest urban bat colony in the world. While it was daytime, you can hear a light chitter of the resident safe in their homes underneath.
Thanks to @BatsInLavender I found out today is International Bat Appreciation Day! As someone who likes to explore caves, I've long had a fondness for bats. The ones living here are small and eat insects, helping to keep mosquitoes and crop pests under control. Here's a couple photos from some white nose syndrome research trips to look at gray bats in a federally protected cave in the southeast US. They're so cute!! One photo of me for scale. #Bats#BatAppreciationDay
Happy #BatAppreciationDay! My favorite experience appreciating bats was at the Frio Bat Flight in Texas a few years ago. The evening departure of over 10 million Mexican free-tailed bats from their cave takes hours. Appreciative raptors hunt the bats before dark, grabbing them right out of the sky and eating them without landing.
"The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s reclassification of the northern long-eared bat from threatened to endangered status came into effect Friday, March 31.
"In #Vermont, the northern-long eared bat received a state endangered status in 2011 due to rapid and drastic declines caused by the deadly fungal disease white-nose syndrome. It received federal threatened status in 2015 after the disease had spread throughout the Northeast, but not the entire range of the species. Following white-nose syndrome’s expansion across the United States and Canada, the northern long-eared bat has experienced similarly dramatic population declines throughout most of its range. In Vermont, this once-common species of mature forest habitats has declined by 98% in the underground hibernation sites where it overwinters. The USFWS’ reclassification comes in response to this trend."
B.C. ecologists brace for spread of fungal disease that has eradicated bat populations across North America
Province said it first detected fungus associated with white-nose syndrome on bats in Grand Forks, B.C.
CBC News · Posted: Apr 09, 2023
"White-nose syndrome has killed millions of bats across North America since first appearing in North America in New York State, probably through shipping. It's spread mostly bat-to-bat, although humans can play a role by carrying spores on their clothes or gear.
"In light of the risks around white-nose syndrome, the program has been asking British Columbians to report a dead or sick bat on its website or via email at info@bcbats.ca or call 1-855-922-2287.
"During the white-nose syndrome period from Nov. 1 to May 31, the program recommends people not touch a dead bat with bare hands but instead collect it by wrapping it with a paper towel and putting it into a zip lock bag,