Bat Day

A federally endangered Indiana bat is evaluated by a researcher during Mammoth Cave's Bat Night.

NPS Photo

Join Mammoth Cave National Park for Bat Day on Saturday, August 30, 2025!

This year we celebrate not Bat Night, but Bat Day! This is a full day event and will be bigger and better with more opportunities to learn even more surrounding those night flyers which are loved by some and still feared by others. Bat Day is meant to help better educate everyone on many aspects of bats, from conservation, to how biologist study bats in the wilds, including presentations from those that work to rehabilitate injured and orphaned bats with hopes of returning them to the wild once again. Join us as park rangers and bat experts present special programs and activities that highlight new information and ongoing research about all things bat!

All Bat Night events are free and do not require reservations. Participants are advised to bring a small flashlight to illuminate outdoor pathways. Bat Night activities will be cancelled in the case of severe weather.

Bat Night is made possible by support from Friends of Mammoth Cave National Park who work in cooperation with the National Park Service to fund projects and programs that protect, preserve, and enhance the natural and cultural resources, and the visitor experience of Mammoth Cave National Park.

 

Schedule of Activities:

The Nature Conservancy’s Success with Cave Management Has a Lasting Impact on Bats
10 a.m. — Amphitheater

Join Cory Holliday, Cave and Karst Program Manager with the Tennessee Chapter of The Nature Conservancy, as he brings to light the efforts by The Nature Conservancy in protecting some of the most critical bat habitats across the United States.

Association of Zoos & Aquariums and Bat Conservation
11 a.m. — Amphitheater

Enjoy a discussion about the role that zoos and aquariums play in bat conservation and edudcation led by Stephen R. Taylor, Assistant Director of Conservation, Education & Collections and Matt Lahm, Assistant Curator of Conservation Education, both with the Louisville Zoological Gardens.

Bat Rehabilitation and Release
12 p.m. — Amphitheater

Brigette Brouillard, Founder and Executive Director of Second Chances Wildlife Center, will examine threats that face bats in nature. Each year, Kentucky nonprofit, Second Chances Wildlife Center, takes care of numerous bats, some are adults, some are tiny newborns. What is the rehabilitation process? Learn what measures are taken to get these bats healthy enough to be released back to the wild. You will have an opportunity to see some live bats that are currently under their care.

Protecting Bats in the Southeastern National Parks
1 p.m. — Amphitheater

Explore the role of the National Park Service's protection of bats and bat habitats throughout the national parks of the southern United States with Carrie Allison, Regional Wildlife Biologist with the Southeast Regional Office of the National Park Service.

Being a Bat Biologist
1 to 3 p.m. — Visitor Center (Back Porch)

Calling all Junior Rangers! Join Dr. Tim Carter and students from Ball State University to learn what it's like to be a chiropterologist, a biologist who studies bats. Participants will go through the process of removing their 'bat capture' and collecting data on each 'bat'. **No live bats are used in this activity. **

From Questions to Conservation: How Science Guides Bat Recovery
2 p.m. — Amphitheater

Behind every successful bat recovery effort is a foundation of research — from cave surveys to forest habitat studies. Join Biologist Karah Jaffe, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service – Kentucky Ecological Service Field Office, to explore how researchers, conservation partners, and land managers are working together to better understand four federally listed bat species: the Gray Bat, Indiana Bat, Northern Long-eared Bat, and Virginia Big-eared Bat. Through ongoing studies, habitat protection, and cave stewardship, these efforts are helping guide recovery strategies and making a difference for bats across Kentucky and beyond.

Bat Speak
3 p.m. — Amphitheater

Join Cal Poly Humboldt professor of zoology and founder/designer of Sonobat Bat Call software Dr. Joe Szewczak for a discussion on how field biologist study bats using bat detectors and the uniqueness of each species' call.

Chasing the Night Flyers
4 p.m. — Amphitheater

Biologist Keith Christenson will discuss bat field work across the world.

Mammoth Cave National Park and How We Study Them
5 p.m. — Amphitheater

Dr. Tim Carter, Professor and Department Chair of Department of Biology & Director of Field Stations and Environmental Education Center at Ball State University, will examine the species of bats found within the park and explain how scientists and researchers learn from these winged wonders.

Mammoth Cave National Park and How We Study Them
6 p.m. — Amphitheater

Price Sewell, Senior Biologist/Project Manager with Copperhead Consulting, Inc., will highlight bat species throughout Central America.

Bats in Hand
7 to 9 pm — Historic Entrance

Join John Chenger, Bat Conservation and Management; Steve Thomas, Network Program Manager, Cumberland Piedmont Network/Mammoth Cave National Park; and Rick Toomey, Cave Management Specialist, Mammoth Cave National Park, near the Historic Entrance as bats are being captured for data collection and assessment of their overall health. This type of work allows us to better understand and manage the bats of Mammoth Cave National Park.

Four data collection stations will be setup to allow for visitors to see bats a little closer than usual. Visitors are asked to maintain at least 6 of distance from the stations.