UF bat house will receive nursery module for baby bat safety

April 17, 2006

WHAT: Volunteers from state and federal agencies and others will join UF employees to install a new module of roosting fins inside the UF Bat House to protect bat pups from falls and predators. The addition is identical to a successful one completed last April. Covering one fourth of the area beneath the bat house, the module will create an environment similar to nursery colonies found in the wild.

WHO: The Florida Bat Conservancy is sponsoring the addition.

BACKGROUND: Each year, thousands of pups are born in the bat house during the spring and summer. It is not unusual for some pups to fall from a roost during the early weeks before they can fly. Over the past few years an inordinate number of young have been found on the ground, many dehydrated or injured and in need of special care. Many more have likely been taken by predators. Fewer pups fell last spring, thanks to the design of the new fins within the first module.

WHEN: 9 a.m. to noon Thursday.

WHERE: UF Bat House, Museum Road, across from Lake Alice.

CONTACTS: Brad Files, EH&S Pest Management Services senior pest control manager, can be reached at bfiles@ehs.ufl.edu or (352) 392-3410. George Marks, president of the Florida Bat Conservancy, can be contacted at floridabats@aol.com or (727) 710-2287.