Rare bats thrive in a cave just for them

[Wayne Harrison]

By MORGAN SIMMONS
May 19, 2007

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency now owns a cave in Middle Tennessee that provides a year-round home to a federally endangered species of bat.

About 126,000 gray bats hibernate in the cave in the winter. In the spring and summer, the cave, located on the Highland Rim, does double duty as a nursery by supporting a maternity colony of 50,000 to 100,000 gray bats.

The Nature Conservancy purchased the cave last year with help from a private donor and a grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The conservancy recently transferred the cave and 34 acres to the wildlife agency as an endangered species sanctuary.

Tennessee is home to two federally listed bat species - the Indiana bat, which remains critically rare, and the gray bat, which in recent years has shown signs of a comeback, thanks to conservation efforts.

Full story:
http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/national/article/0,1406,KNS_350_5544085,00.html

[Komebeaux]

Yeah? But what about all those cavers they're pissing off!?

[/sarcasm]