Texas Bats Having Tough Time Amid Drought The drought affecting
Texas this summer is giving resident bats a hard time. The lack
of moisture has depleted the insect population so that bats are
having to depart early from their daytime dwellings because they
have to travel farther to find enough to eat. At Bracken Bat
Cave, home to the world’s highest concentration of bats, the
little guys are having to emerge as much as two hours before
darkness. Leaving their daytime roosts before nightfall makes
them more susceptible to predators. Hawks, falcons, owls,
raccoons and snakes are known to make meals of bats. Experts
have also noticed fewer bats emerging from caves and have seen
evidence that more infant bats are showing up dead. An infant
bat will not survive it it’s mother cannot provide it with
enough food. “If adults aren’t able to get enough food, babies
don’t,” - Diana Foss, Urban Biologist for the Texas Parks and
Wildlife Department, to the Bryan College Station Eagle Although
it is impossible to determine