Bat Week? It’s for the bats!

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Posted: October 22, 2019

As Halloween approaches, bat enthusiasts around B.C. are celebrating and supporting bats by participating in International Bat Week (October 24-31). Bat Week is all about appreciating these amazing animals and their benefits, from eating insects to pollinating the agave plant used to make tequila.

Take a moment to learn about the many ways bats contribute to our lives, and what you can do locally for bats, at www.batweek.org or through the BC Community Bat Program at www.bcbats.ca. Attend a bat talk, help restore a wetland, visit a roost site, prepare your bat house for next spring… there are many ways to participate.

Myotis lucifugus, Little Brown Myotis: the Little Brown Myotis is common and widespread across BC but endangered in Canada, and to expected to decline in B.C. due to WNS. Photo: SM Bishop

The following events are upcoming:

‘Bat Celebration Night’ at Kimberley Independent School, Kimberley, on Monday, October 28 from 6:30-9 p.m. and ‘Celebrating Columbia Valley’s Bats’ at the Lion’s Den, Fairmont Hot Springs, on Wednesday, October 30 from 6-8 p.m. Both events are open to the public and free to attend!

“Bats in B.C. help control agricultural and forest pests, as well as mosquitoes in our yards – but now bats need our help,” said Mandy Kellner, Coordinator for the BC Community Bat Program. “The conservation of bats in BC has always been important, since over half the species in this province are considered at risk. With the continuing spread of White-nose Syndrome in Washington State, bat conservation is more important than ever.”

White-nose Syndrome (WNS) is a disease caused by an introduced fungus, first detected in North America in a cave in New York in 2006. Since it was discovered, it has spread to 33 states and seven provinces in North America, decimating bat populations along the way.

“Luckily, WNS is not yet in B.C.,” continued Kellner, “But we are preparing for its arrival by raising awareness about bats, working with landowners who have bats in buildings, enhancing bat habitat, and monitoring populations.”

Monitoring for WNS in BC will continue this winter, with Community Bat Programs requesting reports of dead bats or sightings of winter bat activity starting November 1. You can report sightings at www.bcbats.ca, [email protected] or 1-855-922-2287 ext. 14.

In partnership with the BC Ministry of Environment, and funded by the Columbia Basin Trust, Regional District of the East Kootenay, Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation, Forest Enhancement Society of BC, and the Habitat Stewardship Program, the BC Community Bat Program provides information about bats in buildings, conducts site visits to advise landowners on managing bats in buildings, coordinates the Annual Bat Count, and offers educational programs on bats.

To find out more about the BC Community Bat Program, Bat Week activities, and options for helping local bat populations, visit www.bcbats.ca or call or 1-855-922-2287 ext. 14.

Lead image: Installing a bat house: Bat houses offer roost sites when natural features such as old trees are rare. Find details at www.bcbats.ca. Photo by V Reznicek