Holy flying mammals, check out Arizona’s only bat cam!
Aug 16, 2018, 1:30 PM
Pallid bats (Wikipedia Commons Photo/Geoff Gallice)
(Wikipedia Commons Photo/Geoff Gallice)
PHOENIX – Na na na na na na na na na na na na na, bat cam!
The Arizona Game and Fish Department has unveiled what is believed to be the state’s only livestream of wild roosting bats.
Bat fans can now use the internet to peek in on several species of the flying mammals at the Cluff Ranch Wildlife Area in southeastern Arizona, near Safford.
“We’re really excited to offer this fascinating real-time glimpse into an active bat roost,” Randy Babb of the department’s Watchable Wildlife Program said in a news release.
According to the release, bats were first observed inside a Cluff Ranch barn in 1992. The barn was set aside for use by pallid bats, canyon bats, cave myotis and Yuma myotis.
The best time to view the bats is during daylight hours, especially between 9 a.m. and noon, when they hang off the rafters to cool off.
Scientists will use the camera to study the animals during the summer and early fall.
Officials asked the public to contribute to the efforts by watching the bat cam and tweeting observations to @azgfd using the hashtag #findthebats.
The program now includes three animals with their own webcams, with the bats joining sandhill cranes and desert pupfish.
There has been a peregrine falcon cam, but the birds didn’t nest this year where the camera was mounted.
