Bracken Cave Bat Emergence

From batcon.org

Bracken Bat Emergence

It is an old story. For over 10,000 years, the bats have come to Bracken Cave every Spring. Probably beginning as soon as the last Ice Age receded northward, allowing the sun to warm up the coastal bend of a place we now call Texas. The bats bred. Raised their young. Hung themselves in tightly packed clusters from the cave ceiling. And at twilight, they flowed on whirring wings into the night sky. Millions of them. Until a trickle turned into a winding, twisting river of Mexican free-tailed bats, ready to feast on the protein-rich, airborne insects migrating over the limestone hills.

And so it came to be that in this very special place, the largest concentration of mammals on our planet gathered. Just twenty miles from San Antonio. The country's fifth largest metropolitan area and steadily growing. Alongside millions of bats. The story is far from over. But we need your help to ensure its future.

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• Bracken
• Bat
• Cave
• Texas
• batcon.org
• conservation
• nature
• Mexican
• free-tailed
• bats

[dustbunnieboo]

Thanks Kqr147. I'm glad you were able to see this in real life. The bats under the Congress Bridge in Austin, TX are amazing. I'd love to see the Bracken Bats as well.

[skwasniak]

Correction.YOU CAN VISIT BRACKEN BAT CAVE. The cave is owned and protected by Bat Conservation international, a non-profit organization that protects bats and their habitats. We give frequent tours for our members. All you need to do is become a member of BCI ($35) and then sign up for a members night. You can take 3 guests, so you are paying less than $10 per person and money goes to a good cause.

[GhostWatching]

Really Cool Video ! 5 stars *****

[frankenbat]

wow, i wanna go there and see that.

[SpahrSpahr]

yay! going on a field trip tomorrow to see this :D sooooo excited!

[enchantedsb]

This is so beautiful!

[lh9789]

Wish there was a high-def version of this video so you could really see the individual bats. Looks like this Texas place, as well as Congress Bridge in Austin, must be heaven for bats. Bats must just loooove Texas. Thanks for the video.

[texazed]

I used to hunt on that ranch in the 1970s and 80s. During the summer we would sit in the same spots used to film this clip and watch the bats. In the winter we would fill up burlap sacks with guano for our vegetable gardens and lawn. I miss those days.

[666rogue666]

OMG DON'T LET THEM DO IT!

[sonotarockstar]

i think i understand you but what do you think would happen to the bats and cafe if it was open to the public? i've seen all that graffitti you guys have, especially the guadalupee, campus area. homeless ppl would camp out there.

[allengarvin]

I visited Bracken cave in 1988! It was part of a trip provided by UT's dean's scholars honor program. We stood in the mouth of the cave at dusk as the bats flew out. Apart from sinking up to our ankles in guano, it was quite an amazing experience.

[dustbunnieboo]

Thanks for that info about visiting Bracken Bat Cave, skwasniak. It's nice to know it's open for tours. That's a very reasonable rate for 3 people. I need to contact BCI and send them my membership fee ASAP. :-)