Federal and New York Status: Endangered
The Indiana Bat is one of nine bat species found in New York. The approximately 3-inch furry mammal, feed solely on insects. However, pesticide use proposes decrease and poising of their food supply. With the decrease of insects also comes the decrease of Indiana Bats.
Not only are humans responsible for endangering existing Indiana Bats, but we are also responsible for preventing the breeding of future bats. The most suspected cause for bat depletion is disturbance by caves explorers. Bats are severely sensitive to noise and light, and are often disturbed during vital times of winter hibernation. With too many disturbances the bats cannot hibernate resulting in no reproduction. What humans don’t realize is that the density of bats hibernating in one cave could be as high as 300-500 bats per square foot! Some caves house over 80,000 bats. This means our disturbance doesn’t only kill one or two bats, but hundreds and thousands of them. Together, the low birth rate of only one offspring per year, and high death rate caused by humans, it may take years to stabilize the Indiana Bat.
