Bat-O-Rama featuring Brown University bat expert
Posted on Saturday, June 14, 2008
Devil's Den State Park is observing its 19 th annual Bat-O-Rama this weekend, an event devoted to educating park visitors about the flying mammals.
Nickolay Hristov, professor and bat researcher at Brown University in Providence, R. I., will be on hand tonight to give his presentation," The Charm and Mystery of Bats."
Hristov will share his experiences of studying bats over the past 10 years. He has done extensive research on the Mexican free-tailed bats at Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico. He will talk about thermal imaging, high-speed cameras and lasers used in bat research. His program, sponsored by the Friends of Devils' Den, is set for 8: 45 p.m. at the park amphitheater.
Hike scheduled A crevice exploration hike is set for 9 a.m. Sunday. Park interpreter Harry Harnish, also known as "Batman," will lead visitors on this hike through the deepest crevices of the park's sandstone crevices area. Participants are asked to meet at the visitor center flag pole.
Bat houses There will be a bat house demonstration at 1 p.m. Sunday, when participants will find out why it is important to put a bat house up in their yards. They will learn how to build their own bat houses. This event is set to be conducted in the audio / visual room at the park. One person will be selected to put together the bat house. Harnish says he already has the pieces pre-cut. Brochures will be distributed outlining how to build a bat house. Harnish said bat houses provide a roost for the bats, although most common house bats already have places to roost.
The main reason to build a bat house, he said, is to provide an outdoor conversation piece.
"It's a great public relations tool," Harnish said. "It gives you a great opportunity to talk about bats."
It provides a reason to tell friends the truth about bats and dispel myths, he said.
There may be another reason for the bat house, especially if people are sitting in the yard for a long time.
"They eat bugs that bug us at night," Harnish said.
There are 16 species of bats in Arkansas and all feed on night-time flying insects, mainly moths, but also mosquitos.
' To the bat cave... ' Harnish has been at the park since 1985 and, as his nickname implies, is its resident bat expert. Bats hibernate in the park's caves during the winter, but can be found flying around the park during the summer, which explains the timing of Bat-O-Rama. Harnish said bats hibernate when there is no food, or when it is cold enough that no bugs are flying. There are seven species of bat at Devil's Den, which include the Ozark Big-eared Bat and Indiana Bat, both endangered species. There are about 100 Ozark Big-Eared bats that hibernate in the winter at Devil's Den, Harnish said. There are only about 2, 500 of these bats in the country. There are 20 to 40 Indiana Bats each winter at the park.
Big-Eared Bats hibernate in a cave that is protected by an alarm system. If someone enters the cave and turns on a flashlight, it causes a reaction that prompts a recorded message to come over park radios: "To the bat cave, Robin. Not a moment to spare."
The most common bat species in the park, Harnish said, are the Eastern Pipistrelle and Big Brown bats.
Big Brown Bats have bat houses that act as bat shelters at the park.
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