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Florida Bonneted Bat Program Updates

Below is the latest on our Florida Bonneted Bat program. To find out more about the species and the whole program click here: Our Endangered Neighbor: The Florida Bonneted Bat

 

The Bat Lab Wins the 2022 FAZA Nature Conservation Award!!

The Miami Bat Lab, a lab collaboratively founded by Bat Conservation International and Zoo Miami with funding from Florida Power and Light, won the 2022 Florida Association of Zoos and Aquariums' (FAZA) Nature Conservation Award.  This award recognizes outstanding efforts put forth by FAZA members to conserve Florida species and excellence in field conservation efforts to benefit... Read More
Posted by Frank Ridgley at 01 September 2022

House Swap

We had some bat houses that were deteriorating and in need of replacement. These bat houses had small chambers, were designed to attract Brazilian free-tailed and evening bats, but had never become occupied. A local troop of Boy Scouts had made some replacement boxes for us and we went to take down the old boxes and install the new ones yesterday morning. To our surprise, when double checking o... Read More
Posted by Frank Ridgley at 30 December 2021

Artificial Snag Proves to be Attractive to Florida Bonneted Bats

About a year ago we took a slash pine log, and with the help of our horticulture department, we gave our best try at making a cavity in the log that is similar to what a red-cockaded woodpecker would have made. The Florida bonneted bat seems to have a high association with this imperiled woodpecker species' tree cavities in natural areas where they coexist. The red-cockaded woodpecker is no... Read More
Posted by Frank Ridgley at 21 December 2021

New bat box design works!

Around a year ago the Miami Bat Lab installed two experimental artificial roosts that were custom made to hopefully attract and house Florida bonneted bats. These boxes are different than the traditional single chamber boxes we have been using for years. These are called rocketboxes and have two chambers that go all the way around a central pole. The theory is that these boxes will be healthier... Read More
Posted by Frank Ridgley at 29 October 2021

Newborn pup!

Your browser doesn't support video. Please download the file: video/mp4 We got a wonderfull surprize today when doing our monthly checks of artificial roosts around Miami-Dade County. WHen we used our camera to peak into one of the boxes we didn't understand what we were seeing at first but then soon realized there was a newborn pup on its mom's back. And when we say newborn, we ... Read More
Posted by Frank Ridgley at 23 September 2021

New Lakeside Penthouse Listing - Going Fast!

2/2 0.28 sqft Penthouse with amazing lake views. This listing won't last long! Est. Payment $0/mo Year built: 2021. Heating/cooling: Natural. HOA $0/monthly.   We have all heard that the Miami real estate market is doing well right now and it can be difficult to find a place. We told you all last week about a federally endangered Florida bonneted bat that had begun roosting in a ... Read More
Posted by Frank Ridgley at 18 August 2021

Florida Bonneted Bat Picks a Terrible Roost

This last week a runner at a park in south Miami-Dade County reported to have spotted a large bat roosting under a small recreational shelter. The next day, a member of the Miami Bat Lab went out to investigate and confirmed that is was indeed an endangered Florida bonneted bat! A single Florida bonneted bat by itself is almost always going to be a bachelor male since this species lives in a ha... Read More
Posted by Frank Ridgley at 02 August 2021

Plant Guide to Help Florida Bonneted Bats

How can we help the endangered Florida bonneted bat? We get this question a lot when we talk to people about #ourendangeredneighbor. Zoo Miami developed this guide to make it easy for you if you live in Miami-Dade County! The Florida bonneted bat eats a lot of insects every night and these insects reply on particular plants to help them complete their life cycle. So, if you plant these native p... Read More
Posted by Frank Ridgley at 01 August 2021

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