Endangered Bats

More on Bats in Southern Arizona.  Nature lovers and biologists will be most interested.

This is from my friend who called Game and Fish about her bats after she heard they were interested in tracking bats on the endangered list. I posted her pictures in last week's blog.

The Game and Fish crew arrived around 7:00 and were here until 9:30 P.M.

They first set up some tall poles by the back patio, then ran some very light fish net between them to cover the length of the patio and about 3-6 feet off the ground. Once the bats started flying around they entangled themselves in the net, and if they struggled a lot it might take 10 minutes to untangle them. I think they caught 6 bats before they found the one they wanted to glue the transmitter to.

The process was that once a bat got caught in the net, the guys (wearing gloves) carefully extricated it from the net; the more the bat struggled, the longer that took. Once it was freed they dumped it in a cloth bag so they could hang it from a scale and get a weight which they recorded in a notebook. Next they took it out and examined it, noting species, sex, age and if it was 'breeding' or not.

There are two species that feed on nectar in Az., and so far all the pictures we've taken have been the Lesser Long-Nosed Bat (the one on the endangered list and the subject of their study) so naturally the first bat they trapped turned out to be the other species (the Mexican Long-Nosed bat) so she was turned loose. She was about 22 gms, but the next several were lighter so were not selected for the transmitter. After the first Mexican bat, all the others caught were the desired Lesser Long Nosed bat, both sexes. The last two were caught at the same time and each weighed 23 gms (the desired minimum for the transmitter) but one was very full of nectar and the other had little water weight so he was selected as the biggest.

The transmitter was about 5 cm long, but with a wire antenna about another 6 mm long; it was glued on with a skin bond glue which will hold it on for 7-10 days. The two p/u trucks had extended directional antennas mounted in the beds; one truck took off before the bat was released, and headed out the back roads to Dos Cabezas intending to wait at the 186 highway expecting the bat to head that way when it went back to its roost. The other truck stayed here in my yard for about 45 minutes, tracking the signal. They expected that after release the bat might go 'rest' somewhere (like my barn) before returning to the feeders and then heading home.

They promised to let her know what happens, and if they track him to the daytime cave/mine or other roost.  Haven't heard anything yet.