KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City District celebrates National Bat Appreciation Day on April 17, 2019.
“Bats are an important part of our natural world,” said David Hoover, Kansas City District conservation biologist. “They are the only mammals that can truly fly and many species are extremely important to humans as they prey on insects that carry disease or may adversely impact agricultural crops.”
Many bat species are in serious decline due to human disturbance of their hibernacula, habitat loss and white-nosed syndrome. The Kansas City District provides important habitat for the numerous bat species found in Missouri, Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska to include the federally-listed endangered gray and Indiana bats and the threatened northern long-eared bat.
“Forested and riparian areas provide important habitat for bats to forage, roost and raise their young during the summer. We work together with the Missouri Department of Conservation to protect several caves near our lakes that serve as important hibernacula for several species of bats in the winter and as important maternity roost colony habitat for the federally-listed endangered gray bat during the summer,” said Hoover.
How can you help conserve bats? Don’t enter any caves. Hoover informed entering caves during summer months may disturb females with young that are not capable of flight. If the maternity colony is disturbed these young flightless bats may fall to the cave floor where they will not survive.
Entering caves in the winter may disturb hibernating bats. Bats awakened from hibernation unnecessarily utilize important energy resources that are needed to sustain them until spring. This can cause bats to emerge from the hibernacula before their natural food sources are available and perish from starvation.
“Recently, a federally-listed endangered Indiana bat was tracked from an area on the Upper Buffalo National Wilderness on the Ozark National Forest in Newton County, Arkansas to an area near the Corps of Engineers’ Harry S. Truman and Stockton lakes; a distance of over 100 miles!” exclaimed Hoover.
The effort to protect and provide habitat for bats on Corps land is often done in cooperation with our onsite natural resource management agency partners which include the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Missouri Department of Conservation, Missouri Department of Natural Resources and Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism.
Bats are truly amazing creatures and we hope you will assist us in protecting them and their habitat.
Did you know?
• Some species of bats can live up to 40 years.
• Bats can see in the dark and use their extreme sense of hearing.
• They use echolocation to find food.
• Bats are the only mammal naturally capable of true and sustained flight.
• There are over 1,200 known species of bats.
• The U.S. is home to an estimated 48 species of bats.
• Nearly 70% of bats are insectivores.
• Along with bees and butterflies, bats are pollinators making them vital to our food supply.
• One of the largest bats is the Giant Golden-Crowned Flying Fox bat weighing up to 4 pounds with a wingspan of up to 5 feet, 7 inches.
• Bats are clean animals, grooming themselves almost constantly.
• North America’s largest urban bat colony is found on the Congress Avenue Bridge in Austin, Texas. It is home to an estimated 1,500,000 Mexican Free-Tailed bats. This colony of bats eats approximately 10,000 to 30,000 pounds of insects each night. It is estimated 100,000 tourists visit the bridge annually to watch the bats leave the roost at twilight.
• One colony of 150 Big Brown bats can protect farmers from up to 33 million or more rootworms each summer.
• Almost 40% of American bat species are in severe decline, with some already listed as endangered or threatened.
• Three U.S. states have an official state bat. Texas and Oklahoma have named the Mexican Free-Tailed bat their state bat, and Virginia has dubbed the Virginia Big-Eared bat their state bat.
For more information contact the Public Affairs Office at (816) 389-3486.
The Kansas City District is a team of dedicated professionals with a strong heritage and proven results who, in collaboration with our partners, proudly serve in the Heartland providing leadership, technical excellence, and innovative solutions to the nation's most complex problems.