they migrate 800 miles north to reach their summer home in these caves. over 250 million years ago, an inland sea covered this area. lilistone reefs formed in the shallows neararhe shore. eventually, the sea disappeared, and the land was uplifted into mountains. scientists estimate that about 60 million years ago, the cave-building process began. acidic water dissolved the limestone, hollowing out a complex network of caves, now protected within the b bndaries of carlsbad caverns national park.

about 17,000 years ago, bats discovered these caves. a perfectly embalmed bat encased in a stalagmite over 100 years ago underscores the long relationship of bats and carlsbad. ch evening from spring until fall, several hundred thousand take flight, rising in columns, then evaporating into the twilight skies. when the mexican free-tails turn at dawn, they may have eaten 100% of their body weight in insects. that's a half a million pounds of bugs. the visual display is amazing, but imagine what it must have been like earlier in this century when the carlsbad colony numbered nearly 9 million. today, the caverns shelter less than one-half million,

since ancient times, bats have been portrayed in a negative manner. throughout the centuries, artists portrayed bats as satanic, supernatural creatures. in fact, lucifer himself regularly appeared wearing bat wings. medieval christians often characterized early-day spiritualists as devil worshipers, and wouldn't you know? the little devils were decked out in their bat wings. witches engaged the fearsome creatures in their mystical rituals, but myths and magic aside, the bat is a gentle, intelligent creature. one of our largest bats is the plain-nosed hoary bat. its heavy dark fur is tipped withhite, giving it a frosty, or hoary, appearance.

the peculiar-looking western mastiff of the southwest is the largest american bat. its remarkable earar droop over its face. the smallest american bat is the pipistrelle. tinier than a hummingbird, the pipistrelle weighs less than a nickck. [bat calling] all of the free-tailed bats have short ears which join over the nose, giving t tm a pugnacious e eression. the california leaf-nose has elf-like oversized ears and a tiny triangula flap of skin that sticks up above the nonorils. the yuma myotis is a plain-nosed bat usually found near water. are you on medicare? do you have the coverage you need? open enrollment ends december 7th. so now's the time to get on a path

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not all species of bats in north america fly into the night skies to seek out insect prey.

some have an entirely different mission. in our southwest, the endangered lesser long-nosed bats are key pollinators of the most important plants of the desert. the fututu of an entire dedert ecosystem may rest on these important night fliers, whose specially adapted long tongues and noses allow them to feed on night-flowerincacti and agave. on hushed wings, the bats come, hovering over the beautiful blossoms,

and gathering its sweet nectar. pollen sticks to eir furry faces and bodies, and as they travel and feed, they cross-pollinate the plants. although many bibis and insects visit these plants in the daylight hours, the flowers are only reproductively receptive at night, and so the long-nosed bat is thenly species whicicensures the future of these giants of the desert. the bats visit e night-flowering cacti in groups,

and organ-pipe, among others. but where long-nosed bats were once abundant, only a few thousand exist today, too few to successfully pollinate every plant. if this trend continues, the situation will have far-reaching implications. some kinds of giant cacti could be lost to future generations, and if they die e t, so will the many other species of plants and animals which depend on them for food and shelter. the potential demise, then, of the long-nosed bat takes on enormous importance. only by protecting them can we ensure the fufure health of theheesert ecosystem. and because they spend the winter in mexican caves,

many cases, the e y to survival depends on preserving their roost sites from human disturbance and vandalism. another species which shares the long-nosed bat's desert home is the pallid bat. it's a late-night hunter which prefers to catch its prey on the ground. everythihi from crickets anangrasshoppers to lizards and scorpions may be on the pallid bat's nightly menu, but in the case of the tarantula, the bat gives this co-hunter of the night a wide berth. the pallid bat is a fairly agile walker. its shorter, exceptionally strong wings help it to m meuver across theheesert floor. contrary to common belief, this bat and at least some other bat species have excellent eyesight,

even in low light levels. unlike most bats that need to swoop down and pick up airspeed in order to gain altitude, the pallid can vault into the air to seek a new hunting location, aided by a flight membrane

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bats may spend over 3/4 of their lives asleep, slowing down their respiration and heart rate as they doze in a trance-like, toid state. for hanging upupde down, they have a blood-flow system that works in reverse to humans', and they have toes and knees which bend the opposite direction from ours. the pallid bat often roosts in rock crevices or old abandoned buildings. some bats have even been reported roosting in a pair of boots left on a porch overnight. suitable places to roost and rear their young are a particular problem for the mexican free-tailed bats. most rely on only a dozen caves in the united states, including bracken cave here in texas. over 20 million individual free-tailed bats live within the cool confines of bracken,

in the world. as many as 200 adults per square foot may crowd onto cave ceilings-- mostly females, which raise their young here. after a gestation period of about 2 1/2 months, the pups are born. at birth, , e pink pups are nearly 1/3 the weight of their mothers. like a human female, the bat mother nurses her young at her breast. the pupspsre born hairless, sightless, and flightless, but not clawless. after a short time spent clinging under their mother's wings, they hang beside her in the roost. each evening, the mother bats leave their babies to hunt. upon returning in the mning, they not only find their pup from among the seemingly identitil millions, but they remember the location of their baby to within a few inches.

and the momoer can confirm the identity of her offspring by scent. less than one-half will survive to adulthood. most that accideally fall from the roost die. accumulated bat droppings, or guano, as well as the bodies of bats provide a rich food source for the teeming numbers of insects and other animals which live within the cave ecosystem. as the weeks pass, the young bats grow@quickly, assisted only by their mothers. now a grayish-brbrn, the young are almost as large as their parents. a mother bat is intolerant of a strange baby and will allow only her offspring to nurse. even before sunset, the adult free-tailed bats begin to fly into the darkening skies.

millions of pounds of insects. in seemingly chaotic fashion, millions flow out of the cave entrance-- a flurry of long, narrow wings, dancing silhouettes, spiraling upward to a height of 10,000 feet. the sound of millions of bats leaving the e ve to us humans is just a deafening roar, but to the bats, it's a symphony in ultrasonic sound. [b[bs echolocating] but predator can become prey. frequently, other hunters, like owls and hawks, wait for the nightly bat emergence. the same echolocation that allows the bats to catch fast-flying i iects on the darkest night

enter the quick kestrel,t, smallest of our north american falcons. broadsiding the bat, the smaller bird succeeds on its first try. as the free-tailed bats spread out over the texas countryside, the same full moon greets the california leaf-nosed bats

bats which hunt insects have the most highly developed sonar. they can truly see with sound, locating flying insects by sending out highghitched ultrasonic pulses. the echoes that bounce back are instantly processed. strong echoes equal large targets; small echoes, small targets, like this moth. once the bat has locked on,

to sense its signals, and they immediately drop from the air. tiny differences in t t echo indicate texture, shape, location, and direction of flight. a cruising bat emits about 10 per second, with up to 200 or more clicks per second when closing in on prey at frequencies 10 times higher than our range of hearing. a cricket, on its own search for a meal, is shielded from the bat's probing echoes by the irregular shape of the cactus. when the cricket leaves its perch,

the aerial chase only lasts a few seconds. flying at speeds of 10-20 feet per second, the bat homes in on its target, scoops it up with a wingtip, d passes it into its mouth. some bats catch up to a thousand mosquito-sized insects an hour. nearly half of all american bat species are endangered. an organization founded in the early 1980s called bat conservation international is trying totoave our bats from extermination. some species that have been evicted from their traditional roosts in caves, dead t tes, and buildings, can be lured to man-made substitutes. simply-constructed bat boxes with roosting compartments can shelter up to a hundred individuals.

if placed near a constant supply of water, we can increase our chances to attract these helpful hunters of the night. for more information about wild a when your skin is feeling dry and crinkly, time for gold bond healing lotion. packed with 7 moisturizers and 3 vitamins. leaves skin nourished, healed, healthy-looking. gold bond. despite what we now know about their importance to a balanced ecosystem, bats are still one of the most relentlessly persecuted animals on earth. one way we can help ensure their survival is to erect bababoxes, like this one, in our yards and nature preserves. in return for a place to roost, bats will earn their keep by eating thousands of insects each night. you can obtain a ready-made box through several conservation organizations,

or you can build one yourself. as you can see, all that's required is an open bottom and some snug compartments. by inviting them into your backyard, you'll discover the useful and fascinating habits of our beneficial bats. i'm marty stouffer.

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