Hanging Out with Bats, May 14

Species: Colorado Bats
Current Status: Unknown

There are 18 bat species that call Colorado home, but we don’t know very much about them. Three species (Fringed myotis, Hoary bat, and Townsend’s big-eared bat) are US Forest Service Region 2 Sensitive Species.

Bats face a number of threats in Colorado, including habitat loss and climate change, and periodically throughout human history, fear. But not much is known about the population status of most species of bats in Colorado.

Partners:

A huge thank you to our Hanging Out With Bats partners:

Here are some things you can do to hang out with bats:

Read:

For Adults:

• “It’s Wrong to Blame Bats for the Coronavirus Epidemic,” from Discover Magazine.
• “What is White-nose Syndrome,” from White-nose Syndrome Response Team.

For Kids:

• “5 Reasons Why Bats are the Best” from National Geographic Kids.
• “Meet Some Bonkers Bats!” from National Geographic Kids.

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Do:

For Adults:

• Bolster the Bat Bank with a donation!
• Order your #SaveTheBats tee. The proceeds will go to help fund our Colorado Bat Watch project.
• Sign up to volunteer with Colorado Bat Watch, our citizen science project to help boost the knowledge we have on Colorado bat populations.
• Build a bat house. Use this great guide from National Wildlife Federation to build a bat house to help those bats who can’t find space in a forest.

For Kids:

• Color in your own bat, and this one too! Consider sending it to us and we’ll post it on our social media and share during Endangered Species Day (coming soon).
• Did you know bats are really important pollinators? It’s true. Check out Captain Planet Foundation’s Pollinator Quest to learn more about pollinators, ways in which we’re harming them, and how we can help them!

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Watch:

For Adults:

• Join us for a Bat Power Hour and Ask Me Anything at noon. Our citizen science team will be joined by bat conservationist and environmental educator Kristen Lear and Rob Schorr from Climbers for Bat Conservation to discuss what we do know about Colorado bats, what we don’t know, and how the Colorado Bat Watch citizen science project can fill in the gaps. Then, we’ll open it up to answer all your bat questions! If you have a question you’d like answered, please email it to Chris ahead of the Power Hour. Please register to reserve your spot as space is limited.
• “Bats Take Flight,” from Science Friday (7 minutes)

For Kids:

• “All About Bats for Kids” from FreeSchool (6 minutes)

• “Science Trek: Bats” from PBS (29 minutes)

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Check out our Colorado Endangered Species Week page for more days of activities!