Published: January 31, 2007 02:10 pm

Another count — 02/01/07

Endangered Indiana bats seem to be flourishing at Carter Caves

It’s a certain bet that the vast majority of the approximately 700 visitors who showed up for the annual crawlathon at Carter Caves State Resort Park were there simply for fun, adventure, a bit of exercise and fellowship. But those with Bat Conservation International had a more serious purpose: Counting bats inside the park’s caves, particularly the number of endangered Indiana bats.

“We’re doing science,” said Jim Kennedy, a biologist for Bat Conservation International. “Not big science ... but we go through some of the bigger caves that have the endangered Indiana bat and count in those caves ...”

They then compare the number of bats with the number counted during the crawlathon in 2005. From that they will be able to determine whether the Indiana bat population in the park is increasing, decreasing or remaining about the same.

BCI, based in Austin, Texas, has been counting Indiana bats at Carter Caves since 1998. That’s because the caves in the park provide some of the best habitat for the bats found anywhere — cold-air caves with a steady climate.

Because of the park’s critical role in preserving Indiana bats as a species, two of the park’s caves — Bat Cave and Saltpetre Cave — are gated and off limits during the winter months when the bats are hibernating.

The good news here is that the number of Indiana bats in Saltpetre Cave is increasing steadily, almost doubling every two years. However, because there are eight to 10 caves in the immediate area where Indiana bats are believed to reside, a complete and accurate count is not possible.

We suspect most of those participating in the crawlathon would not have accompanied the BCI researchers if they could have. Counting bats is just not many people’s idea of a fun weekend.

However, the success of the bat population in the caves has benefits even for those who hate being near the flying mammals. A single bat will consume up to 2,000 insects in a night. When it comes to controlling the insect population, they can outperform just about any bug zapper.

Kennedy said the bat counts are about the only way BCI has to judge the success of its efforts to preserve an endangered bat species. Judging from the number of bats counted at the most recent crawlathon, those efforts are going quite well. And that’s good news for all of us.