According to Nevada Division of Wildlife (NDOW) biologists, Nevada currently is home for some 23 species of these winged wonders. They may look ugly to some people, but these crafty little animals have taken special advantage of the state’s abundance of abandoned mines to make their homes or roosts.

Several years ago, it was discovered that one bat species, the pallid bat, had claimed a mine in the Fish Creek Mountain Range to use as a maternity roost. Like the name implies, a maternity roost is where female bats give birth and raise their young. Male bats usually roost separately until the newborn bats are weaned. Currently this particular bat colony is home for upwards of 250 bats, making it the largest known maternity roost for pallid bats in the United States. Most pallid bat maternity roosts house 12 - 100 bats. Females normally give birth to only one or two young per year.

To protect this special colony of bats, NDOW teamed up with Bat Conservation International, based in Austin, Texas, and the Apollo Gold Corporation to install a “bat gate” over the mine opening to protect the roost. Other cooperators with this project included the Bureau of Land Management and the Nevada Mining Association.

The gate, which cost $9,000, was constructed by Frontier Environmental Solutions from California. It is built using two 6-foot segments of concrete culvert to maintain stability of the opening. Concrete was also used instead of metal to minimize the bounce of the bats’ ultra sound navigation system. A locked gate was installed between the two pieces of culvert wide enough for the bats to travel freely, while ensuring the safety of visitors.

Pallid bats range in color from buff to pure white. Their body measures from 4 1/4 inches to 5 1/8, with a 16-inch wingspan. Pallid bats are very sensitive to disturbance. Any small disturbance can cause a bat to abandon a roost and they may not return for several years. These bats are considered very social creatures that use calls to communicate between colony members.

Unlike other bats that feed off flying insects, pallid bats capture little, if any, of their food in the air. Instead, they usually prefer to capture their prey on foliage or the ground. Some of their favorite food includes scorpions, crickets, grasshoppers, centipedes, beetles and spiders. Pallid bats are not susceptible to scorpion venom.

With the invasion of Mormon crickets, these bats have helped Nevada’s ecology and agriculture industry by consuming these destructive insects. Since bats usually eat half their weight in food, it is estimated that this colony alone will consume over 1,700 pounds of insects in just one season.

Division of Wildlife western region biologists will continue to monitor the bat gate along with the health and population of this bat colony.

The partnership effort that went into this project works positively to protect wildlife, while promoting the interests of all involved parties.

Maureen Angel is the publications writer for the Nevada Division of Wildlife. If you have an issue you’d like to see her address, email mangel@ndow.state.nv.us