Setting the record straight is one of the most powerful things that any of us who care about bats can do to help these often-beleaguered animals. And that’s exactly what Cynthia Myers of San Deigo did when her hometown newspaper ran an article headlined: “Four bats loose in county.”...more

When the bats emerge from Bracken Bat Cave, they are packed into a vortex so dense that they seem often to be a single, swirling organism. Countless flapping wings spread a faintly audible flutter over the Hill Country of Central Texas. Thick ribbons of hungry bats snake across the darkening skies while occasional owls and hawks dive on the columns, snatching the unwary or unlucky. The twilight emergence of Bracken's 20 million Mexican free-tailed bats is an unforgettable experience, one of the most awesome spectacles in nature....more

The future of the endangered Indiana myotis may hinge on restoring hibernation caves that once held great colonies but are now mostly empty because they have been altered by humans. The first step is finding those caves, and their names may serve as signposts. Alterations that change airflow and push temperatures beyond those tolerated by the hibernating bats were often made by 19th century miners....more