Homestead Bat Study

Duration:

6 minutes, 4 seconds

This study seeks a threatened specie and more information about how bats utilize park habitat.

BATS!!!

Homestead National Historical Park is home to an amazing diversity of wildlife including the endangered Northern Long-Eared Bat. Bat Research at the park has identified EIGHT different species of bats that inhabit the park in the summer months, with some bats appearing to use the park year-round! Calls of the big brown bat, northern long-eared bat and the hoary bat were detected in sampling that occurred in October and February. Monitoring has not occurred November through January.

All the bats that inhabit Homestead are insectivorous, meaning that they only eat insects. These tiny little predators consume copious numbers of insects, helping to keep the ecosystem in balance by reducing the amount of crop, tree, and forage damage that the insects could cause if their populations were left unchecked.