GILLETTE, Wyo. — Oct. 24 through Oct. 31 is Bat Week, an international celebration to raise awareness about the need for bat conservation.
Devils Tower National Monument park staff said in a Facebook post on Wednesday that they’ve been studying 11 bat species for several years and that Devils Tower Natural History Association has donated more than $11,000 to support the monument’s bat conservation work in 2022. They said bats are the only flying mammal and they eat their body weight every night in insects, which helps protect crops. Scientists developing navigational aids for the blind have studied how bats use echolocation. Bats also help pollinate fruits.
The Bureau of Land Management Wyoming tweeted this morning that its Cody Field Office partnered with Bat Conservation International and Wildlife Imaging Systems to capture images of bats with infrared light cameras, without disturbing the animals, to learn more about bat hibernation.
According to the Wyoming Natural Diversity Database, bat species in Wyoming include the Northern Hoary Bat, the Pallid Bat, Townsend’s Big-Eared Bat, the Big Brown Bat, the Spotted Bat, the Silver-Haired Bat and the Tri-Colored Bat.
The University of Wyoming’s UWyo magazine reported Oct. 10 that Wyoming Natural Diversity Database is working with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department to combat white-nose syndrome, a fungal disease that several bat species are coping with.
Bat Conservation International has more information about bats and how to help protect them.
