Trick or treat? The late-night visitors to your hummingbird feeders are likely not birds in Halloween costumes—they’re bats! The nectar may be meant for avian visitors, but in the twilight hours, it is lesser long-nosed bats that feast on the sweet liquid.
Back in 1988, fewer than 1,000 lesser long-nosed bats were thought to remain at 14 known roosts, prompting the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to list the species as endangered. Although researchers had a sense of what was causing the bat’s decline, efforts to recover the species faced a significant hurdle: Scientists lacked the basic information needed for effective conservation. That’s when hummingbird fans in Arizona stepped in to help.
In honor of this nocturnal symbol of the season, learn more about how community scientists have been central to the recovery of lesser long-nosed bats. |
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