Bat Surveys

Description

Watch an evening departure of about 200 Mexican free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis) from a roost in Capitol Reef. Mexican free-tails are found in the western U.S., south through Mexico, Central America and into northern South America. Mexican free-tailed bats in Capitol Reef migrate south to Central America and Mexico during the winter. These insectivorous bats have dark brown or gray colored fur, they weigh 0.4-0.5 oz (11-14 g) and their wingspan is between 12-14 in (30-35 cm). They have broad, black, forward pointing ears, wrinkled lips, and their wings are long and narrow; they are very fast flyers.

Although this roost only numbered about 200 bats, colonies of over 20,000,000 can be found elsewhere in their range!

Duration

1 minute, 5 seconds

Credit

NPS

Date Created

02/25/2012

Copyright and Usage Info

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