Bat Week Offers Fresh Look At Misunderstood Mammals

(MENAFN- EIN Presswire) The disease has decimated local populations. Studies in the Ouachita National Forest show a 98 percent drop in northern long-eared bats, while tricolored bat numbers have plummeted by 90 percent statewide.

Biologists believe the fungus originally arrived from Europe and Asia on the gear and clothing of cave explorers. Today, it has spread to at least 15 Arkansas counties. While there is no known cure, scientists worldwide are studying ways to control its spread.

Sasse says everyday citizens can follow a few simple rules to support local bats:

Practice Clean Caving: Anyone exploring caves or mines should follow strict cleaning protocols for clothes, shoes and gear to prevent spreading fungal spores. Detailed guidelines are available at whitenosesyndrom.

Provide Habitat: Landowners and homeowners can build and install bat houses to give species safe summer roosts. If you're looking for a fun workshop to learn, check out the J.B. and Johnelle Hunt Family Nature Center in Springdale on the AGFC's Events Pag. There's a bat house-building course there Oct. 31; seats are limited and filling up fast.

Spread Awareness: Take time during Bat Week to dispel common myths. Bats are the only mammals capable of true flight, possessing wings made of modified hand bones. They have good eyesight and use advanced echolocation to navigate and hunt. And despite urban legends, none of the three blood-consuming vampire bat species live in the United States.

Visit batwee to learn more about bat conservation.

Visit the AGFC's YouTube Channe for a view of one of Sasse's more interesting research methods involving bats and bridges in The Natural State.

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CUTLINES

BAT RELEASE
Blake Sasse, AGFC nongame mammal program coordinator, releases a small-footed bat during his research in Arkansas. Click the photo for more information. AGFC photo.

BAT IN CREVICE
Bats roost in small cracks in caves, bridges and even under loose bark of trees. Click the image for a video of research. AGFC photo.

WHITE NOSE SYNDROME
This little brown bat is suffering from White Nose Syndrome, a deadly disease killing entire colonies of bats throughout the continent. Photo by Ryan Von Linden/New York Department of Environmental Conservation.

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Bat Week Offers Fresh Look at Misunderstood Mammals News Provided By Arkansas Game & Fish Commission October 24, 2026, 09:44 GMT Share This Article Distribution channels:

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