Hidden Habitats Big News for Big-Eared Bats

Deep inside a cave in eastern Oklahoma, a forestry manager stumbled upon a colony of Ozark big-eared bats. That was big news, because the bats are an endangered species. Scientists say that only 2,000 of the big-eared creatures are alive today. Until a couple years ago, scientists didn’t know about the colony, or group, of bats in this cave.

These bats should not be disturbed. Big-eared bats raise their babies, called pups, during the summer. If a person comes into the cave and scares the bats, they’ll abandon the pups. The bats also need to be left alone while they hibernate during winter. If people were to wake up the bats too early, the bats wouldn’t have insects to eat and would starve before summer arrived.

Luckily, the recently discovered bats will stay safe from human intruders. Just like Batman’s Batcave, the location of this big-eared bat cave will be kept a secret. Discovery Mountains

Bird scientist Bruce Beehler and a team of researchers recently discovered dozens of new plant and animal species in the Foja Mountains on the island of New Guinea. The creatures could have remained unknown, if not for a little bit of luck. About 10 years ago, a plan was proposed to build a dam on a nearby river. The dam would have flooded the Foja Mountain region, and some of the species in the area may have become extinct, or died out. Fortunately for these newly found creatures, the dam was never built.

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