By Dallin Saurey
Did you know that bats are very important to the ecosystem? They save the agricultural industry in the state of Idaho about $23 million a year, and about $1 billion nationwide. They allow us to pay that much less in pesticides because bats eat mosquitoes and bugs.
I spoke with Brian Bybee, a bat biologist for Van Ness Feldman, to get more information.
To answer my question about his first experiences with bats he said, “When I was going to BYU-Idaho, I needed an internship and got a joint project with BYU-Idaho, Idaho Fish and Game, US Forest service, BLM, and Idaho Cave Survey.” That’s what got him interested in bats. He also said, “Year-round I have bat detectors set in caves on federal land. Every other year we count hibernating bats, and we also do some invisible ‘mist netting’ when directed by Idaho Fish and Game. Mostly to find out what bats we have before we lose more. There are few things that negatively affect a bat. There is habitat loss. There is white nose syndrome, which has been identified in other states.”
What happens in white nose syndrome? Mr. Bybee said, “Fungus gets on the bats’ noses, irritates them when they are hibernating, and wakes them up early and they end up starving.”
Their numbers are also decreased by natural predators and the not-so-natural wind energy.
There is a project that is going to be proposed on federal land that may affect the number of bats. If you give bats their space, it will be no issue. They will do what they are supposed to do, like eat bugs.
“If you see a bat on the ground, don’t handle it (as with any wild animal). You need to treat it as if there is something wrong with it. Call somebody that has more experience handling bats or scoop it into a container without touching it.”
I wonder how can we change our natural desire to give aid to wildlife in the great outdoor experiences we have. This biologist said, “Realize you don’t need to handle wildlife. It is cruel to say however, let nature take its course.”
There are lots of projects for wildlife, but I was interested to learn about the importance of a bat’s habitat. I have met many people who make homes for bats, but Bybee said, “We don’t get a whole lot of volunteers because they need to get a badge and security clearance before they can help. Those that have volunteered have a great experience.”
I have been able to help my friend check bat detectors and monitor bats at night. You can learn about bat species by their echo location. They can detect an object as small as the width of a human hair. The sounds they send for their echo’s can be as loud 200 KZ or as quiet as 9 KZ, depending in the species.
According to the Maryland department of natural resources, “Brown bats are ‘shouters,’ making an 110 decibel noise to reverberate off their prey! Northern Long Ear Bats are called ‘whispering bats’ because their sound is about as loud as normal human conversation.” (DNR.maryland.gov/wildlife/)) This kind of echo location is used by 70% of bats, the rest use sounds below a human’s ability to hear.
