Bats

With abundant cliff, cave, and tree roosting habitat near wetlands that bats use for foraging, Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area supports an abundance and broad distribution of bats, all of them insectivores. A single little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus, the most common of the species) can consume 1,200 mosquito-sized insects in an hour. The distribution of these bat species tends to be highly localized near sources of food, water, and roosting structures. They roost in natural habitats as well as in bridges, buildings,abandoned mines, and other man-made structures, which can lead to conflicts with human use and historical preservation plans.

Updated 9/3/2008