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Why Bats Are So Much More Than Halloween Frights

By Kelly Vowels

It’s that spooky time of year when people hang bats, spiders, and other eerie creatures around their homes. But here at Bernheim, we see bats not as symbols of Halloween frights but as vital, often misunderstood members of the ecosystem. Most people know that many birds migrate as temperatures drop, but few realize that bats do too.

Tri-color bat

Like several bird species, bats migrate at night, often flying great distances in search of food and warmer climates. Many bats found in Kentucky migrate to caves to overwinter, where they hibernate until spring. From forests across Kentucky, they travel to caves here and in nearby states. Gray bats, for example, can journey hundreds of miles between their summer and winter habitats. While some bats migrate shorter distances, others around the world travel thousands of miles seasonally. Recent acoustic data collected at Bernheim shows that hibernating bats occasionally emerge from caves during warmer winter days.

Not all bats hibernate in caves, however. Eastern red bats, silver-haired bats, and hoary bats roost in leaves and tree bark instead, seeking warmer areas during winter. While Eastern red and hoary bats often remain in Kentucky, silver-haired bats are most commonly found here in the fall, with numbers dwindling through other seasons.

Left to right: Tri-color bats, Big brown bat

Unfortunately, migratory bats face growing threats from wind turbines, particularly in late summer and fall when they are more active. Hoary and red bats have been significantly affected by collisions with wind turbines, mistaking them for trees, and are often fatally struck by the blades. Research is ongoing to better understand these collisions and find solutions to protect migratory bat populations.

Bats play essential roles in pest control, seed dispersal, and pollination—services that are invaluable to the ecosystem. This Halloween season, perhaps on a warm fall night in October or November, look up at the evening sky. You might catch a glimpse of these incredible creatures and remember that they’re much more than spooky icons. They’re essential, resilient, and deserving of our protection and respect.

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