Bats In Alabama: Winter Bat Survey Completed

BIRMINGHAM, AL - With more than 6,000 caves hidden in the state's karst geology and extensive forests, Alabama provides a home to 16 species of cave and tree dwelling bats. Every year, the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources teams up with organizations such as Riffner Mountain, the Birmingham Zoo and the US Fish and Wildlife Service to conduct the Nongame Wildlife Program's annual winter bat survey.

While few people would say they like the idea of having bats living nearby, bats actually serve a valuable environmental purpose. However, a disease is killing off a large portion of the bat population.

In Alabama, a variety of culverts are used by bats, especially tricolored and southeastern bats. These two species of bats are susceptible to the devastating disease White-nose Syndrome, which has killed 7 million bats in North America. Insectivorous bats provide more than $4 billion in pest control services to the US agriculture economy each year. Because of the importance bats contribute to our native ecosystem, the Nongame Wildlife Program continues to monitor bat populations at known hibernacula across the state, looking for visible signs of disease and collecting biological samples to test for the presence of the fungus that causes the disease. They also count the number of bats of each species to track the effects of WNS on Alabama cave dwelling bat populations.

All but one of Alabama's bat species are listed as Highest, High, or Moderate Conservation Concern in the State's Wildlife Action Plan. Three Alabama bat species are listed as Threatened or Endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Several species are State Protected.

The Alabama Natural Heritage Section maintains the State Natural Heritage Database. County-level information on the occurrence of bat species in Alabama is open to the public with a free user account.