The Indiana Bat
The bat often has a bad reputation. They are seen as disgusting creatures, and people often see them as doing more harm than good. If found in the home, homeowners often try stunning or killing them with a tennis racket, Most children associate them with vampires, which makes them an even more terrifying creature to young kids. However, without the bat, earth would be a much more unfortunate place to live.
The Indiana bat is located in the southern and midwestern location of The United States. The bat can be found in forests, grasslands, and crop fields. In 1967 the Indiana bat made its way onto the “in danger of extinction” list. The decline was due for a number of reasons, from humans to disease.
Why is this bat important?
The Indiana bat is a great pest controller. They only eat night time insects, such as mosquitos, beetles, and many other insects that feed on crops. Indiana bats can eat around 3,000 insects in one nights. This helps by creating less devastation to farm crops, and lessens the amount of disease spreading mosquitos.
What threats are imposed on the bat?
During the winter, Indiana bats gather in clusters to hibernate in caves. The smallest disturbance could kill a bat during hibernation. The commercialization of caves in more recent years, has been a big reason on why the Indiana bat is in decline. When a cave is commercialized, gates are put up, often improperly. This causes a change in temperature, which the bat is not equipped to deal with. Any change in humidity and air flow, will disturb hibernation. When the bat is not hibernating, they are found living in trees during summer. But due to deforestation, it has become harder for the Indiana bat to find a suitable home in summer months. Food has also become scarce. Most farmers have started using pesticide spray to ensure insects stay off their crops. This causes a shortage of insects for the Indiana bat to consume during their feeding times. The biggest threat to the bat, however, is white-nose syndrome. During hibernation and the cold winter months, bats can develop a disease where a white fungus grows on their nose. Scientists still do not know the cause of the fungus, but have been researching it for around a decade.
How is the bat being helped?
Since being put on the critically endangered list, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been developing a recovery plan. The Bat Conservation International Organization has also been created. The Bat Conservation has created a five year plan, that is currently in its fourth year. They are partnering with organizations at a global scale to ensure the safety of all bats, including the Indiana bat. The conservation has also created an educational program for multiple areas.
How can you help?
The Bat Conservation always accepts donations. This helps with education, habitats and the overall effort to protect bats.
Another way to help, is to quit supporting cave tourism. This will ensure that the Indiana bat’s habitat will remain peaceful and safe during hibernation. You can also stop spraying pesticides, especially if you’re a farmer, which will increase food supply. If you don’t farm, you can make sure you buy pesticide free fruits and vegetables, to help support the movement of bat conservation.
Saving the Indiana bat is crucial to the ecosystem of the southern and midwestern states. Without this bad, there could be a serious decrease of crops, and increase of pests.
