Bats

Thirteen species of bats live within Bandelier National Monument.

NPS Photo by Sally King

Eons ago when ancestral bats sought the shelter of darkness as protection from predators their future reputation as creatures of mystery and evil was born. Hampered by this reputation and numerous misconceptions, these flying mammals have encountered a new and even more dangerous enemy: MAN.

Thirteen species of bats live within Bandelier National Monument. The most commonly seen species is the Mexican Free-tailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis). Frequently a colony of these bats roosts in the cave above Long House on the Main Loop Trail. In 1986, about 10,000 Mexican free-tails and some little brown bats (Myotis yumanensis) moved in and continued to use the cave every summer until 2002.

 

Silver-haired bat

photo by sally king

Bandelier Bats

1. Big Brown Bat - Eptesicus fuscus
2. Mexican Free-tailed Bat - Tadarida brasiliensis
3. California Myotis - Myotis californicus
4. Fringed Myotis - Myotis thysanodes
5. Long-earred Myotis - Myotis evotis
6. Long-legged Myotis - Myotis volans
7. Pallid Bat - Antroszous pallidus
8. Silver-haired Bat - Lasionycteris noctivagans
9. Townsend's Big-earred Bat - Plectus towsendii
10. Small-footed Myotis - Myotis lebii
11. Western Pipistrelle - Pipistrellus hesperus
12. Little Brown Bat - Myoitis yumanensis
13. Hoary Bat - Lasiurus cinerus