James Greene and Andrew Dickins, both of the Upper Cumberland Grotto, exam the bat friendly gate at Wolf River Cave. (Photo courtesy of Kristen Bobo)

Saving the Bats of Wolf River Cave

The endangered Indiana myotis (Myotis sodalis) came very close to losing its second-largest hibernation site in Tennessee a few months ago. Wolf River Cave was going on the auction block and the most interested bidder planned to commercialize the dramatic cave and develop the surrounding area.

But in a remarkable cooperative coup, three conservation groups - Bat Conservation International, The Nature Conservancy of Tennessee, and the Southeastern Cave Conservancy - managed in a few days to come up with $74,000 to enter the auction. It took every dime, but the cave and 33 acres of surrounding countryside near Jamestown, Tennessee, are now safe.

The cave is especially important because Indiana myotis are notoriously picky about their hibernation sites. BCI research showed that these bats need hibernation caves and mines that meet precise temperature requirements and that are structured in such a way that the roost stays cold enough for the bats to hibernate in the fall without freezing in the winter. Relatively few caves or mines meet these criteria and human incursions often alter conditions and leave the roosts unusable.

This Indiana myotis is similar to those that hibernate in Wolf River Cave. (Photo © Merlin D. Tuttle, BCI / 8291303)

Some 2,500 Indiana myotis hibernate there, along with endangered gray bats (Myotis grisescens) and Rafinesque's big-eared bats (Corynorhinus rafinesquii). The cave also includes important archaeological and paleontological features, including ancient human footprints and the bones of long-extinct jaguars.

Warned of the important cave's likely demise, BCI contacted The Nature Conservancy's Tennessee Chapter, which was aware of the risk to the cave but could only spend about $31,000 on it - and the price was likely to go much higher than that. Then the Southeastern Cave Conservancy Inc., after an emergency board meeting, added $33,000 to the fund. BCI pledged another $10,000, which was covered by longtime members Chuck Pease and Cynthia Vann.

The bidding spiraled upward, but the conservation partnership won the property with a final bid of the whole $74,000. Wolf River Cave and its bats were spared.

(BCI members can read the whole story of Wolf River Cave in the Winter edition of BATS magazine.)

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