Featured Post

THIS IS WHAT I DO

Barbed wire | Rescue | THIS IS WHAT I DO checking barbed wire in my own time. volunteer.

Info on Bats | 13th annual Bat Festival set for Sept. 21 at Indiana State University

Info on Bats | 13th annual Bat Festival set for Sept. 21 at Indiana State University

Info on Bats | 13th annual Bat Festival set for Sept. 21 at Indiana State University

Newswise — Bat friends are invited to the 13th annual Indiana Bat Festival on Sept. 21 on the Indiana State University campus.

Sponsored by the university’s Center for Bat Research, Outreach, and Conservation, the free event’s theme this year is “Always Hanging Out! The Busy Social Lives of Bats,” focusing on bat social networks and behaviors.

“Most bats are extremely social, just like humans,” said Joy O’Keefe, associate professor of biology and director of the bat center. “Bats hang out in groups in their roosts, whether under the bark of a dead tree, under the large leaf of a tropical plant, on the ceiling of a cave or in the rafters of a barn."

Some bats live in harems, where a male defends his roost and a small group of females against intrusion by other males, she added. Other bats live in large maternity colonies of hundreds — or even thousands — of moms and their pups roosting together during the pregnancy and lactation periods.
“When pups of the maternal colonies are able to fly, the group disbands into smaller factions, and males may form bachelor colonies,” O’Keefe said. “Bats also fly together in search of food, sometimes sharing information about the whereabouts of a good patch of mayflies on a stream or trees with the best ripe fruits.”

The bat festival will feature opportunities to see live bats and raptors and listen to guest speakers discuss how bats socialize, as well as children’s activities such as face painting, “cave” exploration and origami, information on building bat boxes, silent auction, bake sale and conservation exhibits by community partners.

A local mother-daughter author team will also be at the festival with their book, “The Lonely Bat.” A story about Gregory the bat, the character’s journey teaches children about friendship, empathy and (of course) bats.

Daytime activities are 10 a.m.-4 p.m. in the Science Building on the campus of Indiana State (corner of 6th and Chestnut streets, Terre Haute).

Evening events are 6-9 p.m. at Dobbs Park (5170 E Poplar Dr., Terre Haute) and include a live raptor demonstration, a survey of bats’ favorite foods (moths and beetles!), a bat-themed kids’ adventure course and listening for bats at dusk.

“People’s enthusiasm for bats does not waver,” O’Keefe said. “People of all ages just love bats and learning about bats. We have dedicated Bat Festival attendees, but we also have new people every year. That’s really exciting to get people engaged with bats.”

The festival is sponsoring a Bat Art Contest, with entries from all ages accepted until Sept. 13. A winner in each age group (12 and younger, 13-17, 18 and older) will be awarded a prize. Entries should be no larger than 8.5” x 11” and must be submitted to the ISU Bat Center (Attn: Brianne Walters, Department of Biology, Indiana State University, 600 Chestnut St., Terre Haute, IN 47809; phone 812-237-2808).

Outreach programs like the bat festival help educate and protect the bat population, which faces serious threats including habitat destruction and the devastating White Nose Syndrome, O’Keefe said.

“It’s important to have this festival, because people fear what they don’t understand, and bats are one of those groups of animals that people think of as creepy-crawly and scary. In reality, bats are so important for us, and they’re not very scary at all,” O’Keefe said.

Most bats are the size of a quarter or two in weight — and they eat about that amount of insects each night. “They have a significant impact on insects that are pests to us — like mosquitos and gnats — but also on insects that are pests to our crops and trees, like moths and beetles. Without bats, we have to apply more pesticides and suffer more from the effects of these pests,” O’Keefe said.

“Hopefully, people feel more positively about bats, and that will translate into ‘There’s a bat in my house, I should try to get it out but not kill it.’ That would be something really positive for bats — to not have people be another one of their threats.”

For more information about the festival or art contest, go to isubatcenter.org/bat-festival.



COMMENTS

BLOGGER: 1
Thanks for your comment and support. All comments are moderated. Word verification might be used to reduce spam.

Name

Articles,51,Audio,23,Backyard,24,Barbed Wire,35,Bat Art,56,Bat Books,94,Bat Box,27,Bat Clothing,16,Bat Issues,642,Bat Stamps,1,Bats,4,Bats for Children,39,Bats for the Home,70,Electrocution,9,Events,39,info on bats,643,Jackie Sparrow,26,Microbats,469,Misc,121,Netting,40,Newsletter,5,Promoting,152,Rehab,92,Rehab 2011,7,Rehab 2012,25,Rehab 2013,15,Rehab 2014,6,Rehab 2015,108,Rehab 2016,136,Rehab 2017,73,Rehab 2018,29,Rehab 2019,2,Release Cage,2,RESCUE,74,Rescue 2011,1,Rescue 2012,7,RESCUE 2013,18,RESCUE 2014,8,RESCUE 2015,25,Rescue 2016,20,RESCUE 2017,16,Rescue 2018,10,Rescue 2019,6,Rob Mies,11,Shooting,2,Vegetation,27,Video,399,Virus,128,WebSites-Bat,45,
ltr
item
BatsRule!: Info on Bats | 13th annual Bat Festival set for Sept. 21 at Indiana State University
Info on Bats | 13th annual Bat Festival set for Sept. 21 at Indiana State University
Info on Bats | 13th annual Bat Festival set for Sept. 21 at Indiana State University
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6V4RyDOTuuG-SwAAjEPlMyx86S65hW8k7PTqVBVKCf3OVJxug_wNHf3d2baQYcAJnL5Xf2q-T6M9jnzWtZlVppeqUzQV7gZ998c2sWAHvaXPtq8toXAfevEwkpMcu80i9pCkBD2sFI8Y/s640/13th+annual+Bat+Festival+set+for+Sept.+21+at+Indiana+State+University.jpg
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6V4RyDOTuuG-SwAAjEPlMyx86S65hW8k7PTqVBVKCf3OVJxug_wNHf3d2baQYcAJnL5Xf2q-T6M9jnzWtZlVppeqUzQV7gZ998c2sWAHvaXPtq8toXAfevEwkpMcu80i9pCkBD2sFI8Y/s72-c/13th+annual+Bat+Festival+set+for+Sept.+21+at+Indiana+State+University.jpg
BatsRule!
http://batsrule-helpsavewildlife.blogspot.com/2019/08/info-on-bats-13th-annual-bat-festival.html
http://batsrule-helpsavewildlife.blogspot.com/
http://batsrule-helpsavewildlife.blogspot.com/
http://batsrule-helpsavewildlife.blogspot.com/2019/08/info-on-bats-13th-annual-bat-festival.html
true
4238281482117672351
UTF-8
Loaded All Posts Not found any posts VIEW ALL Readmore Reply Cancel reply Delete By Home PAGES POSTS View All RECOMMENDED FOR YOU LABEL ARCHIVE SEARCH ALL POSTS Not found any post match with your request Back Home Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat January February March April May June July August September October November December Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec just now 1 minute ago $$1$$ minutes ago 1 hour ago $$1$$ hours ago Yesterday $$1$$ days ago $$1$$ weeks ago more than 5 weeks ago Followers Follow THIS PREMIUM CONTENT IS LOCKED STEP 1: Share to a social network STEP 2: Click the link on your social network Copy All Code Select All Code All codes were copied to your clipboard Can not copy the codes / texts, please press [CTRL]+[C] (or CMD+C with Mac) to copy