July 13, 2009, 5:47 pm
Visit Carlsbad Cavern National Park
and behold the sight of hundreds of thousands of bats soaring through the sky
in search of their insect prey. Located in the Guadalupe Mountain, Carlsbad
Caverns is home to 17 different bat species. The most famed among them is the
Brazilian free-tail bat weighing in at ½ ounce, with a wingspan of 11 inches.
The sheer enormity of this colony never ceases to amaze visitors. In fact, as
many as 793,000 bats inhabited the caverns in 2005. The Brazilian free-tail
bats migrate to Mexico in late October through early November returning to
Carlsbad Caverns in April or May. The best time to view these bats is between
July and August when they are joined by their pups (yes, baby bats are called
pups, not batlets) that were born in the early summer as well as other colonies
from the north.
Every
summer, from Memorial Day weekend until mid-October, Carlsbad Caverns hosts
free bat flight programs where park visitors can see the bats’ counter
clockwise spiral departure from the caverns. Park rangers lead informative,
interpretive programs prior to the bat flight. The bat flight can last up to
three hours. Cameras and video recorders are not permitted because the white
flashes disturb the bats. Don’t miss the chance to see this wonder of
nature as hundreds of thousands of
bats flying at more than 25mph in a seemingly never-ending ribbon through the
night sky!
If you’re interested in learning what
the bats’ behavior is like when they return to roost, consider attending the 52nd
Annual Bat Flight Breakfast on Saturday,
July 18 from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. Against the rising of the sun you will see the
thousands of bats return from their night of feeding, an experience vastly
different than their departure the night before. There will be park rangers
giving programs about the return flight. For more information about the
breakfast contact the park at (575) 785-2232.
