Colorado Parks and Wildlife encourages state residents to learn and raise awareness about bat conservation during National Bat Week, observed Oct. 24-31.
Bat Week is a celebration of bats and their role in nature organized by representatives from conservation groups and government agencies in the U.S. and Canada.
“Though many bats in Colorado are hibernating or getting ready to hibernate, Halloween is a great time to raise awareness of bat conservation,” Tina Jackson, CPW species conservation coordinator, said in a news release. “However, we need to keep careful watch all year long for the potential impacts of things like white-nose syndrome or wind energy on the bat populations in the state.”
White-nose syndrome is an emergent fungal disease, responsible for the deaths of millions of hibernating, insect-eating bats, that has spread at an alarming rate from the northeastern to central U.S. From winter 2007 to fall 2017, bats in 31 states and five Canadian provinces have died from the disease.
Bats also face threats from wind-energy development and habitat loss. To monitor bats’ health, Colorado will participate in a North American program to allow biologists to compile baseline data on bats that live or migrate through the state. By way of acoustic detectors, CPW uses Passive Integrated Responder tags and monitors bat behavior at known roost sites to set a baseline, and observe trends in bat population density, range and location.
Colorado is host to 18 species of bats, which includes 13 that hibernate. Hibernation usually runs November through March. If unusual behavior is seen, the public should contact CPW at 303-291-7771 or email wildlife.batline@state.co.us.