Anderson, John M. and Choate, J.R. 1989. Bats of Jewel Cave National Monument. Fort Hays State University. 5 p.

Abstract

The bat fauna of Jewel Cave National Monument, in the Black Hills of South Dakota, is poorly known and may be impacted by future road construction. Accordingly, we were contracted by the Black Hills Parks and Forest Association to locate, identify, and census bats residing in and around Jewel Cave, to determine whether any maternity colonies are located in the cave, and to locate and characterize foraging areas used by bats of the monument.

Nine species of bats were documented at the monument. In descending order of abundance, the bats documented were the small-footed myotis (Myotis ciliolabrum), little brown myotis (M. lucifugus), long-legged myotis (M.volans), fringe-tailed myotis (M. thysanodes), northern myotis (M. septemtrionalis), big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus), Townsend's big-eared bat (Plecotus townsendii), hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus), and silver-haired bat (Lasionycteris noctivangans). Townsend's big-eared bat and all species of Myotis used Jewel Cave both day and night, whereas the big brown bat use the cave only as a night roost. The hoary bat and the silver-haired bat resided in the forest surrounding the cave.

No maternity colonies were found, and 93% of all bats trapped or netted were males. Most bats foraged at the forest edge, especially near sources of water. The primary sourced of water was the monument's sewage lagoon, although some bats used stock tanks placed at springs to provide water for wildlife.