Unique endangered bat needs additional protections
By Amber Crooks | Conservancy Environmental Policy Manager
It is exciting when a new discovery advances our understanding of the natural world. Even in this modern world, we are still learning things about the environment.
Relatively little was known about the Florida bonneted bat until the last few years. The bonneted bat is Florida’s largest bat with a wingspan just short of two feet (typically between 19–21 inches). Bonneted bats have wings built for rapid flight and long-distance travel, the bat also has a unique face, with the “bonneted” descriptor due to the way that the ears fold over their face.
Believed to be one of the rarest bats in North America, the Florida bonneted bat was listed in 2013 under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), which aims to protect the bat from harm and harassment.
It was around that time that biologists started to conduct more in-depth research to learn about where the bat occurs, what habitat it uses for roosting and foraging, how and when it reproduces, and to piece together the building blocks of how to ensure that this imperiled animal can be protected from extinction.
I am grateful to have had the opportunity to volunteer for a scientific monitoring project a few years ago. I was able to assist with data collection at one of only two known natural roosts at the time. The roost tree was in a sheltered and secluded area, and it felt like we were looking for a pirate’s treasure to find that one specific tree in a forest of lookalikes. To me, it looked like a wimpy snag, but it actually contained a precious prize of no more than a dozen bonneted bats.
We set up the monitoring equipment and waited until sunset. Shortly thereafter a mass of biting insects and mosquitos joined us. But thankfully, a bit after that, the bats started to leave their roost to do what bats do. They had a main objective of an evening meal which consists largely of flying insects. As they swooped closer, we heard their chatter calls. Florida bonneted bats are also one of the few bat species that human ears can audibly hear, as many other bat calls are in a frequency that humans are not able to readily hear.
Once the bonneted bats leave their roosts, they can fly between 12 to 24 miles away for a single evening’s dinner, and as high as 30 feet above the treetops.[1] Very impressive distance and height!
Bats don’t pose much threat to humans if left alone. Despite the bad reputation that we sometimes give bats, less than one half of 1% of all bats carry rabies.[2] Bats have major benefits to humans through their pest-eating appetites. An insectivorous bat can eat thousands of insects in one night.[3]
I felt lucky to have the opportunity to help with the scientific data collection of this exceptional bat species. In the subsequent years, a limited number of additional roosts have been documented, though the bonneted bat is still considered quite endangered. Some of these roots are in bat houses, some in trees, and even a few in roof shingles.
While the scientific community is still learning so much about the bonneted bat, we know without a shadow of a doubt that the threats to the bat and its habitat are increasing. Development in southwest Florida threatens areas relied upon by bats and other wildlife, and encroachment into their habitat is growing.
Thankfully, in June 2020 the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) issued a proposal to protect lands essential to the conservation and recovery of the species, called “critical habitat.” If critical habitat ultimately gets approved, it means another layer of protection when development or other activities are proposed in the bonneted bat’s habitat. While critical habitat designation doesn’t preclude development, it is a useful tool provided by the ESA to protect listed species.
The Conservancy of Southwest Florida is in strong support for the designation of critical habitat protections for the Florida bonneted bat, as well as for other species. In 2010, the Conservancy went to court to try and get critical habitat protections designated for the Florida panther, which ultimately was not granted. With the bonneted bat, we have a major opportunity to advance protections for this endangered species. We encourage USFWS to move forward with critical habitat protection, and to improve upon their recommended areas for designation.
Interestingly, the bonneted bat critical habitat designation boundary just skirts along the “Rural Lands West” development (predecessor of the “Rivergrass” and “Longwater” projects), inappropriately exempting it from the current USFWS proposal, despite bonneted bats being detected through surveying onsite. Similarly, unfortunately there is no critical habitat proposed for the Corkscrew area which, if designated, would be a helpful area for connecting the population in south Collier County to bats in Charlotte County.
Hopefully, with critical habitat designated –and improved from the current proposal- we can better secure a pathway for recovery for the Florida bonneted bat.
Tell the USFWS that you support designating critical habitat for the Florida bonneted bat and encourage them to broaden their proposal. You can officially leave a comment for them at www.regulations.gov, under docket number FWS–R4–ES–2019– 0106. More information about the USFWS proposal can be found here: https://www.fws.gov/verobeach/20200609FBBpCHPublishingNR.html.
[1] Smith, 2018. Florida Bonneted Bat Life History and Ecology. Presentation at Bonneted Bat Working Group.
[2] Ober and Mazzotti, 2008. Conservation of Bats in Florida. Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida.
[3] Ober and Mazzotti, 2008. Conservation of Bats in Florida. Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida.
