If you look up in the sky in the early evening, you may see many birds. If you look closely at these birds you will notice that many are not birds at all. They are actually bats!
Did you know that there are 986 different species of bats in the world, all of which fly? Bats are mammals and belong to the Order Chiroptera (meaning hand-wing).They have elongated fingers that stretch skin into "wings". As with other types of mammals, some bats are carnivorous (meat-eating), piscivorous (fish-eating), saguivorous (blood-eating), fruigivorous (fruit-eating), nectarivourous (nectar or pollen eating), but most of them are insectivorous (insect-eating).
Bats are quite common in most places in the world and Utah is no exception. Although little is know about these creatures of the night we do know that Utah hosts some 18 different species of bats, with possibilities for more species as we look.
- Furry-tailed Bats: These bats are of the Family Vespertilionidae or Evening Bats. They have thick fur, with fur on their tail membrane. In general, they are solitary roosters.
- Big-eared Bats: These bats are also of the Family Vespertilionidae or Evening Bats. This group of bats all have very large ears, are medium in size and in general have echolocation calls lower in frequency than other bats.
- Small Brown Bats: These bats are also of the Family Vespertilionidae or Evening Bats. This is the largest and probably most common group of bats found in Utah. These are the small brown bats which are primarily of the Myotis species. They are insectivorous, and probably playa major role in insect control in the various environments in which they live.
- Free-tailed Bats: These bats are of the Family Molossidae or Free-tailed Bats. These bats have a tail which extends beyond the tail memrane. They have short grayish fur, rounded ears, and narrow wings. They are colonial roosters, usually in very large colonies such as the Mexican free-tailed colony found at Carlsbad Caverns.
Learn More about the Bats of the GSENM
The Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument has been exploring the bat inhabitants of this vast landscape only since 1996. The remote desert landscape limits our ability to determine what species and what habitats they occupy.
Below is a list of species likely to be found on the Monument.
For More Information:
Siders, M.S. 2005: Bat Inventory of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Using Mist Nets and Acoustic Monitoring. Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Kanab, UT.
Siders, M.S. 2004: Bat Inventory of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Using Mist Nets and Radio-telemetry. Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Kanab, UT.
AGFD. 1993. Bats of Arizona, a special Heritage Edition of the Arizona Wildlife Views (August 1993). Arizona Game and Fish Department, Phoenix, AZ.
Tuttle, Merlin. 1988. America's Neighborhood Bats. University of Texas Press, Austin, TX.
Oliver, G.V. 2000. The Bats of Utah: A Literature Review. Publication Number 00–14, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Salt Lake City, Utah.
Bat Conservation International
North American Symposium on Bat Research
Western Bat Working Group
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