Video
Bat Surveys
Description
Watch an evening departure of about 200 Mexican free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis) from a roost in Capitol Reef. Mexican free-tails are found in the western U.S., south through Mexico, Central America and into northern South America. Mexican free-tailed bats in Capitol Reef migrate south to Central America and Mexico during the winter. These insectivorous bats have dark brown or gray colored fur, they weigh 0.4-0.5 oz (11-14 g) and their wingspan is between 12-14 in (30-35 cm). They have broad, black, forward pointing ears, wrinkled lips, and their wings are long and narrow; they are very fast flyers.
Although this roost only numbered about 200 bats, colonies of over 20,000,000 can be found elsewhere in their range!
Duration
1 minute, 5 seconds
Credit
NPS
Date Created
02/25/2012
Copyright and Usage Info