HOLD FOR JULY: Bracken Bat Cave

Published 11:26 am Thursday, February 20, 2020

HEADLINE …..A Summer Road Trip for Teens – The Bat-nado

Quiet was the decree. The group of 20 I belonged to walked in silence on a winding trail through a Texas Hill Country landscape of sage brush, cactus and Indian Blankets.

It was June, and we were heading for one of the largest bat shindigs in the world. Everyone in the group obeyed our guide’s instructions. All were eager to see bats.

Home to 32 of the 47 species of bats in the United States, Texas is the battiest state in the country. Not only does it hold the honor of having the most species of bats, it also is home to the largest known Mexican free-tailed bat colony in the world — the Bracken Cave Preserve near San Antonio.

Wildlife experts says more than 15 million bats breed and raise their young at Bracken Cave every summer.

Owned and operated by the nonprofit Bat Conservation International organization, Bracken Cave is protected and closed to the general public. However, during the summer the conservatory provides  opportunities for members of nature conservation groups to witness the spectacular site of thousands of bats leaving the cave at dusk.

When II received an email listing the nights available for guided tours, I made my reservation immediately. 

Mexican free-tailed bats, sometimes referred to as the Brazilian free-tailed bat, are common in Texas. Free-tailed bats spend the winter in caves in Mexico heading for caves in Texas around February. There are only a few sites that are suitable, since these bats need large caves to withstand up to 500 bat pups per square foot roosting on the cave ceiling. Proper temperature and high humidity levels are

necessary for proper growth. But most important, bats are drawn to Texas because of the many flying insects attracted to rich vegetation

growing on ranchland, cultivated cotton, corn and sorghum plants and pecan trees in the area.

A few hours earlier, I arrived at the non-descript sign on a country road and turn into 1,500 acres of former ranch around 6 pm. Met by

volunteers, I’m directed to park behind a few early arrivals and sign a waiver. We had been given instructions beforehand about proper

clothing and insect spray. Once all reserved participants had arrived, we caravan a few miles further to an area full of chairs.

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Our guide, a volunteer with Bat Conservation International, tell us that bats are mammals whose pups are taught to hang onto the cave walls soon after birth. If a pup falls to the floor, the mother will not rescue it because snakes and other predators often lurk in the cave ready to devour anything that falls.

When mothers leave the cave to forage for food, they are able to locate their pups when they return by using their keen sense of smell and listening for their pup’s call.

Baby bat pups feed on their mother’s milk, which is so rich with nutrients that the bats are ready to fly within only five weeks after birth. These tiny fully growth bats weigh less than an ounce and are covered in short, velvety dark fur.

With a wing span of 12 to 14 inches long, the Mexican free-tailed bats are very fast flyers and are known as the “jets” of the bat world. Bats use their broad forward pointing ears to hear sonic waves and locate food in the night sky.

Some of us have our fears put to rest when we learn that it is only a myth that the bats fly into people’s hair. We also learn that it is a terrible idea to venture inside the cave. Bats leave tons of toxic droppings, called guano, on the cave floor.

Although some consider bats spooky creatures, thanks mostly to their misguided cultural association with Halloween, we are told that bats are not only harmless but essential as their nightly feedings control the insect population. The huge  bat population in Bracken Cave colony eats about 400,000 pounds of mosquitoes and other insects every night.

As dusk approaches, the guide gives us the bat viewing rules. The colony sends out a few scouts before the larger population leaves the protection of the cave. If the scouts detect any sign of danger, the rest of bats will not leave the cave.

The guide tells us all to be very quiet, use no flash on our cameras, put our cell phones on airplane mode and not make sudden movements.

After arming us with our bat viewing instructions, the guide leads our group to an area with benches facing the massive opening of the cave.

We are ready. Thirty minutes tick by. I begin to squirm and wonder if the bats have decided to stay safely tucked in for the night. Then suddenly, a few scouts fly out.

Those seated on the front row point towards the cave as the mass exodus then begins. We watch in awe as the swirling mass of what looks like black dots in the sky grows larger and moves rapidly from the cave’s entrance.

Much to my surprise, the mass of bats don’t scatter but stay in a tornado-like formation zooming upwards into the darkening sky. Then, in perfect formation, they head south to feed.

Bats can fly as high as 10,000 feet and travel a circle around the cave 60 miles wide. The mass of the twister is so dense with bats that weather radar can

see it.

Frantically, I adjust my camera’s ISO every few seconds for the darkening sky, but powerless to tear my eyes from the raw natural beauty of

the sunset backdrop against millions of bats moving across clouds. The bats continued in that direction following a leader who has determined

where the most insects are located that night based on the scouts. Once the direction of the bat wave was determined, another guide takes us

along a short trail to the roof of the cave where the bats are flying within twenty feet over our heads. As dusk approached the bat twister

continued, still flowing thickly from the cave as guides carefully lead us back to our cars. It may take hours before the last bat is in the air.

The walk back to our cars, supplemented with phone flash lights, was much noisier. Everyone is laughing, wowing, showing off their photos

and turning around to hopefully catch a last glimpse of the bat-nado. It was an amazing experience, and for some, the beginning of a better

understanding of astonishing and crucial creatures we share our world with.

If You Go

More information can be found on the Nature Conservancy website at www.nature.org, the BCI website at www.batcon.org and the Texas

Parks and Wildlife Department site at www.tpwd.gov .

Sidebar

July is National Tequila Month – the perfect time for a road trip to see the bats of Texas. What do bats and tequila have in common? The Blue

Agave plant. Growing only in the heart of Mexico where the bats spend their summers, the bats pollinate the plant. True tequila is ONLY

made from the Blue Agave. Without the lesser-long nosed bats, this iconic plant would not survive. Learn more at

wwwwwideopeneats.com/everything-you-never-knew-about-bats-and-tequila.

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Ann Bush

Cannbush1970@gmail.com

www.greengypsytravel.com

903-283-3324