INDIANA BAT
Description: The Indiana bat is a medium-sized mouse-eared bat native to North America. It lives primarily in eastern and midwestern states and in parts of the south of theUnited States. The Indiana bat is gray, black, or chestnut in color and is 1.2–2 inches and weighs 4.5 – 9.5 grams (0.16 – 0.34 oz.). It is similar in appearance to the more common little brown bat but is distinguished by its feet size, toe hair length, pink lips and a keel on the calcar.
Indiana bats live in hardwood forests and hardwood-pine forests. It is common in old-growth forest as well as in agricultural land like croplands and old fields. Overall, the bats mostly live in forest, crop fields, and grasslands. As an insectivore, the bat will eat both terrestrial and aquatic flying insects like moths, beetles, and mosquitoes and midges
Current and Historic Distribution: Oklahoma lies along the western edge of the Indiana Bat’s geographic range and it is a very rare species here. Indiana Bats have only been detected a few times in Oklahoma – primarily during the fall and winter in forested parts of the Ozark and Ouachita Mountains along the state line with Arkansas.
Habits: Indiana Bats spend the summer months living solitarily or in small groups of less than10 individuals, and they are usually found in forested habitats. During the summer, they live in hollow tree cavities, spaces underneath loose tree bark, abandoned buildings, abandoned mines or in caves. During the winter months, they hibernate in colonies in caves
Why is the Indiana Bat Endangered?
- Human Disturbance
Indiana bats, because they hibernate in large numbers in only a few caves, are extremely vulnerable to disturbance. During hibernation, they cluster in groups of up to 500 per square foot. Since the largest hibernation caves support from 20,000 to 50,000 bats, it is easy to see how a large part of the total population can be affected by a single event. Episodes of large numbers of Indiana bat deaths have occurred due to human disturbance during hibernation.
- Cave Commercialization and Improper Gating
The commercialization of caves – allowing visitors to tour caves during hibernation – drives bats away. Changes in the structure of caves, such as blocking an entrance, can change the temperature in a cave. A change of even a few degrees can make a cave unsuitable for hibernating bats. Some caves are fitted with gates to keep people out, but improper gating that prevents access by bats or alters air flow, temperature, or humidity can also be harmful. Properly constructed gates are beneficial because they keep people from disturbing hibernating bats while maintaining temperature and other requirements and allowing access for bats.
- Summer Habitat Loss or Degradation
Indiana bats use trees as roosting and foraging sites during summer months. Loss and fragmentation of forested habitats can affect bat populations.
- Pesticides and Environmental Contaminants
Insect-eating bats may seem to have an unlimited food supply, but in local areas, insects may not be plentiful because of pesticide use. This can also affect the quality of the bats’ food supply. Many scientists believe that population declines occurring today might be due, in part, to pesticides and environmental contaminants. Bats may be affected by eating contaminated insects, drinking contaminated water, or absorbing the chemicals while feeding in areas that have been recently treated.
How can you help protect Indiana bats:
- Remove dead/dying trees between Oct. 1 and April 1 to prevent disturbance to roosting bats.
- Attend a bat netting demonstration at a local park to learn more about bats!
- Consider installing a bat house in your backyard. Keep in mind that Indiana bats are very selective.
- Encourage your state and federal legislators to allocate funding towards the effort to understand and fight the white nose syndrome.
- Report unusual late-winter bat behavior (bats flying during the daytime, for example) or unexplained bat deaths to your state wildlife agency.
- Donate to the white nose syndrome emergency fund and other bat conservation initiatives.
Sauce:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGdGSTHZ_G4
http://www.fws.gov/midwest/Endangered/mammals/inba/inbafctsht.html
https://www.google.com/search
http://www.wildlifedepartment.com/wildlifemgmt/endangered/indiana_bat.htm
biology.eku.edu/bats/indianabat.htm
