Selman Bat Count - 2008 - page 2

Saturday, Feb. 23, 2008 - The annual Oklahoma Bat Count! Actually a week late! We had an ice storm last weekend plus about 2 inches of rain so the trip would not have worked! Two teams (Becky, Jon, and Sue and Duane, John, and Mark) went into University of Central Oklahoma property to assist the Univ. in doing a winter bat population count. The bats are in hibernation usually during this time of year and much easier to count. This report will be from the guys (D, John, and Mark) going from Square Sink Entrance to White Mountain to Skylight entrance to Betty's Chair and finally out Oooh Ahhh entrance. (full size pictures (2048 x 1536 pixels) on our COG Picture Gallery pages) Click on any photo to see an enlarged version.
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Multiply those two lines and you get what we call the packing rate (how many bats per square foot!)	We found that our packing rate was about 220 per square foot. So a 2 x 2 foot mat would be 440 bats.	Not only giving you a size comparison of a myotis, but also you can see that individuals as well as mats are counted.
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Whoa!! look out there!!	After that section we went towards Betty's Chair and found lots of mats	Some of the bats were mating (Pictures omitted so we can keep this a family Website.!) <grin>
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The top part of Betty's Chair - usually lots of water is dripping from the drapery above, but it was almost dry!	The throne of Betty's Chair. Bats were actually drinking from the water.	Finally a Pip!! (pipistrellus subflavus) Pips love warmer sections of the cave. They are smaller and more red than myotis.
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One on the floor with a hand for comparison (don't want to get too close...they WILL BITE!!)	Go ahead ...munch on the official bat count note pad!	Trying to catch these guys on the fly is not easy!!
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They are pretty fast...by the time you press the button to take the picture, they are gone!	But you can catch a wing every so often!	Going into Oooh Ahhh tunnel, one can find giant crystals...this one was bigger than my helmet (but too high to give comparison!)
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Writing on caves (or doing any damage) is against the law in Oklahoma, but these guys (now being past 50 years old) are now historical graffiti!!! Don't touch!!	Oooh Ahhh is a pretty narrow and very twisty tunnel	with high ceilings and usually wet floor.
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But with lots of popcorn formations on the wall.	Ahhhh....ever thought I'd see the light of day again!! <grin>	The entrance of Oooh Ahhh.. and our exit.... Thanks to UCO and Mrs. Selman!!
Click on any photo to see an enlarged version. (full size pictures (2048 x 1536 pixels) on our COG Picture Gallery pages)


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Last updated: 2/23/08