“I share my house with a colony of bats.They live in the roof peak,enter through a gap.At dusk they fly out, dipinto inverted arcsto catch what flutters or stings,what can only be hunted at night.” — Mark Wunderlich When a dozen resident turkey vultures (Cathates aura) return each night to roost in my tall pines, it marks the end of another summer day scavenging in harsh light. Their flight home also signals a different beginning, when airborne creatures evolved to hunt in darkened skies take flight. Around twilight we wait to watch the acrobatic maneuvers of nature’s most exclusive animal — not birds but mammals with wings. When the day finally fades to a deep and darkened shade of night the bats (Chiroptera) seem to appear out of nowhere. They swoop in from surrounding habitats: tree hollows, rock cliffs, mines, caves and sheltered buildings.  Like magic, they swerve, dart and dip. Chiroptera means “hand” and “wings” in Greek, which describes the long finger bones that stretch gracefully outward to hold up a delicate membrane that forms the bat’s wings and enables flight. Their aerodynamic bodies and unique wing design have been studied by technical and aeronautical engineers for application to jets, planes and base-jumper wingsuits. Bats are not blind but have poor eyesight. They rely on echolocation to avoid obstructions and to capture prey in mid-flight. The equivalent of 100% of their body weight is consumed daily. That amounts to about 1,000 flying insect (mosquitoes, wasps, dragonflies and moths) per hour! More than 1,300 species of bats survive on Earth.  The International Union for Conservation of Nature is the global authority on the status of the natural world. They review worldwide bat populations and have determined most are thriving, but some bat species are in serious decline. Utah is home to 18 species of bats. The small, dark silhouettes with 10-inch wingspans diving around my barn could be Utah’s nocturnal native, little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus). They are common statewide, especially in mountain communities. Even while forming Utah’s largest colonies (50-1,000), little brown bats are classified as an endangered species by the union. Endangered species are considered threatened with extinction. White-nose syndrome, a fungal disease responsible for the loss of millions of little brown bats, remains a threat. If the bats don’t die from disease or natural predators like raccoons or raptors, they can live for 35 years in the wild. Bats are a protected, non-game mammal in our state. It is illegal to kill a bat in Utah. Little brown bats prefer streams, springs or wetlands with dense vegetation. Many bat species hibernate. Some, like the little brown bat, migrate a short distance and then hibernate solo in structures like attics and barns or trees and in rock crevices, caves and mines. In September, they return the following spring to give birth to one pup. Bats are intriguing and offer many ecosystem benefits. Nonetheless, there are responsible ways to discourage them from hanging out in buildings like my barn, where the bats captivating me with their aeronautic antics try to set up shop. We can reduce disturbing outdoor lighting that disrupts bats’ natural behavior, build a bat house or two and look for October’s international Bat Week to learn more about these mysterious animals. There are plenty of cultural myths about bats, enlightening and scary. In the larger view they offer ecological gifts. No matter how and why they are misunderstood, protecting bats is cause for awe-inspiring celebration. “They scare somebut not me. I see them for what they seem —timid, wee, happy or lucky,pinned to the roof beams,stitched up in their ammonia reekand private as dreams.” — Mark Wunderlich Leslie Miller is the co-editor of “Reimagining A Place for the Wild” and a former, long-time resident of Park City who now lives in Midway.  The post Wild Seeing: Wild about bats appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less